Level the Playing Field
by MildlyInsane
Summary: Cole and Prue find themselves stranded in the middle of the woods without the use of their magic. A group of demons who are responsible for the temporary suspension of the world's magic have tracked Prue and Cole to this location and mean to kill Prue in order to be rid of The Charmed Ones for good. Cole and Prue must put their differences aside and work together to stay alive.
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary: Through an unfortunate series of events, Cole and Prue find themselves stranded in the middle of the woods without the use of their magic. A group of demons who are responsible for the temporary suspension of the world's magic have tracked Prue and Cole to this location and mean to kill Prue in order to be rid of The Charmed Ones for good. Cole and Prue must put their differences aside and work together to avoid being killed.**_

_**Notes: This takes place some time in season 3 (obviously.) I don't really care when, for the most part - just as long as it's sometime after the sisters learn that Cole is a demon, but at the point when they are all beginning to trust (or in Prue's case - tolerate) him. He's dating Phoebe at this point, and he's trying to turn over a new leaf and suppress his demonic side. So whenever you want it to take place that makes logical sense to you, have it take place then. It's mostly vague and doesn't mention too many events that are specific to any episode besides the fact that Cole being a demon is an established fact.  
**_

_**This story is told in 3rd person point of view, focusing on either Prue or Cole, depending on the chapter. It's more Prue near the beginning and more Cole near the end, but they are both very central characters through the whole thing. I've always found their hostile relationship to be interesting and was a little disappointed that the show didn't feature more episodes / scenes focusing on just the two of them. I kind of love their banter and wanted to explore how they might fare if they were forced to be together and forced to depend on each other.**_

_**Little Tiny Warning: There is some violence and some tense situations in this story. It is nothing too extreme though, so don't be scared...**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**xxxxxx**_

Chapter 1

Prue yawned as she stretched her arms out above her head and plopped down on the couch. It was a Saturday morning and she and Piper had both been relatively lazy today thus far. They'd probably both end up at P3 later tonight, but there was no point in going in at 9:00 in the morning. They had worked on taking inventory earlier in the week; all the supplies were stocked and the business aspects of the club were doing fine. Prue's work was going well too - she had nothing to catch up on. Everything, for once, felt like it was under their control. She actually had a moment to relax.

As Prue leaned back against the pillows on the couch, she glanced over at Piper who was chatting on her cell phone. Judging by Piper's side of the conversation, Prue guessed she was speaking with the youngest Halliwell sister, Phoebe.

"I wish you would have let me drive you," Piper sighed, "I told you it was going to rain. Do you want me to bring you something dry to change into? If you've got to study all day, you probably want to be dry at least."

Prue smiled. Phoebe hardly ever accepted her sisters' offers to drive her to school. She usually opted instead for public transportation or even walking. Probably because half the time she was up to something and didn't want her sisters to know she was skipping class in favor of doing something else they wouldn't agree with... like say, checking in on her demon-boyfriend, Cole. Prue nearly rolled her eyes just thinking about it.

"Well give me a call if you change your mind," she heard Piper say, "I'm not doing much of anything today. I'd be glad to bring you dry clothes," she paused for a second, "love you too. Bye."

Piper hung up the phone and grinned at Prue with a raised eyebrow, "do you think she's really even at the library?"

Prue shrugged, "I don't know... but even if she's not, what more harm could she possibly do?"

"I'm not worried or anything," Piper walked over to the couch and picked up Prue's feet as she sat down and placed them on her lap.

"Me neither," Prue agreed, "worse case scenario, she's having a secret affair with _another_ demon... Not anything more to worry about than usual."

Piper forced a smile and then let it fall right back into a frown, "she really didn't know Cole was a demon at first, Prue... None of us did. And you know how hard it is to just break up with someone you're still in love with. I think he really does care about her, Prue. He just also happens to be a demon... I don't blame Phoebe for finding it hard to just let him go..."

"He tried to kill us, Piper... on multiple occasions," Prue reminded her, "I've broken up with men for much lesser crimes."

"I know," Piper sighed, "but he seems to not want to kill us anymore," she added with a somewhat silly smile.

Prue exhaled tiredly, "you're much more forgiving than I am."

Piper looked down at Prue's feet for a moment, twisting one of her older sister's shoelaces around her finger a few times. She looked back up at her sister, "hey, isn't it ironic that I predicted that it would rain when Phoebe's the one who gets premonitions of the future?" she laughed.

Prue recognized that Piper was changing the subject quite purposefully, but she didn't mind. She was done talking about Cole too. There wasn't much more left to say about the whole issue, "yeah," Prue let out a small chuckle, "maybe once all our powers grow to their full potential she'll get premonitions about every-day weather-related issues. How useful would that be? She could drop out of school and become a meteorologist."

Piper threw back her head and clapped Prue's feet as she let out a loud laugh, "I believe that would be considered personal gain."

"No kidding," Prue laughed as well as she began to stand, "you want any coffee?"

"No thanks," Piper replied as she flopped down onto the couch, taking Prue's former position.

Prue wrinkled her nose, "you stole my spot," she joked as she made her way toward the kitchen.

"It's only your spot until you get up," Piper teased. Prue had always said the same thing to Piper when they were children. Piper obviously remembered.

As soon as Prue entered the kitchen, she nearly gasped as she was greeted with the familiar and nauseating sight of a man in mid-shimmer coming into view in front of her. It was Cole, fortunately, rather than a demon who was openly and actively seeking to end the witches' lives. Of course Prue almost would have preferred the later... at least she could work to vanquish a demon neither of her sisters claimed to be in love with.

"What do you want?" Prue growled under her breath as she inadvertently took a step back. She was always on edge when it came to Cole. He claimed he didn't mean to kill them any longer, but she didn't trust him. He never gave her any reason to.

Cole looked frantic, "this is kind of urgent. Where are your sisters?" he glanced around the room quickly.

Prue narrowed her eyes, "what is it? Other demons after you again? Are they upset you didn't finish the job? You here to finish what you tried to start before?" she questioned, always quite skeptical.

"I don't have time to argue with you, Prue," Cole sighed, "Phoebe! Piper!" he called.

Piper came into the room quite quickly, "Phoebe's at the library..." she explained in a confused tone, "Cole... what's going on?"

Cole sighed, "I guess I'll explain this to you two and we'll take care of Phoebe after. We don't have time to waste," he started, "as you know I have what you might call... connections, which keep me informed of what's going on in the demonic world."

Prue glared at him, "and?" she was getting impatient.

Cole stared back at her as though just as frustrated with the eldest Halliwell as she was with him, "and..." he started, "a certain group is planning on casting a spell that will temporarily erase all magic off the earth. No witch or demon's powers will work for however long the spell lasts," he explained.

Piper frowned, "What? For how long? Why would they do that? That would just make them powerless too! What kind of a demon wants to lose their powers?"

"It would be only for a matter of hours or days," Cole went on, "so that you'd be vulnerable long enough for them to kill you."

"But so would they," Prue noticed, "if it's only for a short time, I don't see the problem."

"You don't get it," Cole still seemed unreasonably frantic, "you'll be mortal. They'll be mortal... Mortals kill each other all the time. They mean to make you defenseless so they can kill you the mortal way. We've got to get you someplace where they can't find you."

Prue shook her head, "If we're all mortal, we have just as much chance to kill them as they do to kill us. We'll be prepared."

"They're planning on casting this spell today... I mean, they were preparing to cast it the last I heard. It's just a matter of them waiting to get all their ducks in a row. We don't have time to prepare, because they've been preparing for a while now. They'll be armed, and there will be too many of them for you three to handle. We've got to go, now," he reached toward Prue's hand.

Prue pulled her hand away and stepped back, "go where? Why should we believe you?" she glanced at Piper as her younger sister's cell phone began chirping.

"It's Phoebe," Piper said as she opened the flip-phone and answered, "Phoebe? You alright?" Piper was clearly more receptive to Cole's story than Prue was.

Prue glared back at Cole, "We can take care of ourselves, Cole," she growled.

He shook his head and focused on Piper.

"Okay, okay..." Piper seemed nervous, "Cole came to warn us about the same thing," she spoke quickly into the phone, "he's gonna get us someplace where they won't find us. Just stay put. We... or he... or someone will be there to get you in a minute, alright?" she paused, "love you," with that, she hung up the phone and looked back at Prue, "Cole's right," she sighed, "Phoebe had a premonition of a bunch of demonic-looking sorts breaking into the house... in her vision, they ... they killed you, Prue... We can't stay here."

Prue rolled her eyes, "then we'll do what every other mortal does and call the police," she suggested.

"They may be mortal, Prue, but you don't understand... We're talking about a small army. This isn't just one demon. A huge group is planning this," he reached toward her hand again, "they could cast the spell at any moment. We need to get you three someplace they can't find you," he urged.

Prue drew back again, "I don't see how you think you're more capable of protecting us than we are of protecting ourselves," she growled. She looked then at Piper, basically ignoring Cole at this point, "we need to try to work on writing a spell that will make us immune to theirs," she began, "that way they'll come here, powerless, assuming we are too, only to be unpleasantly surprised when you freeze them and I throw them right back out the door."

"I don't know how to write spells, Prue," Piper seemed really worried, "and what if it doesn't work. If their spell erases all magic, wouldn't it erase the protection of our spell too?"

"I can write it..." Prue offered, "I've written spells before."

"Prue, don't let your pride get your sisters and you killed," Cole scowled down at her, "you know this won't work."

She was about to say something more when she felt Cole grab her hand again, "hey!" she interrupted her own train of thought, "let go of me!" She couldn't pull away this time. His grip was too tight.

"Be right back," Cole said then to Piper before shimmering out of sight.

_**xxxxxx**_

_**Please review. :) Let me know what you think so far...**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Another Note Before We Move On: Eventually there will be more characters introduced into this story. I chose their names off a list of demon names I found online, but the characters I have written really have nothing to do with any other version of any of the demons the names refer to in any other media. I did not research any of the demons - just used their names. So if any of these names sound familiar to you for whatever reason, don't draw any connections, because they most likely aren't really there.**_

_**Thanks for coming back to read the next chapter. Enjoy:**_

_**xxxxxx**_

Chapter 2

Prue felt herself quickly coming into being someplace that was definitely not her home. This place was cold and dark. She even almost fell as the smooth, even tiles of her kitchen floor were replaced by this unfamiliar, wooden, and slightly uneven ground under her feet. She simply wasn't expecting this, and certainly wasn't used to traveling via demon-shimmer. It was nothing like when she astral projected herself. That always felt smooth... but maybe it was just because she had grown accustomed to traveling that way, and of course, her astral self wasn't really her, more like a visual manifestation of her consciousness. It was her real self being transported now, and in a manner she'd have never authorized if given the choice.

As Cole steadied her with his hands firmly holding onto hers, Prue struggled to pull herself free from his grasp, even if it would mean she'd lose her balance and fall. She had told him she didn't want to go with him, but he'd taken her anyway. Prue had told him she and her sisters didn't need his help, and she had meant it. She wasn't a child. She didn't need him making her choices for her. Naturally, she was quite annoyed, "you have no right-" she began in an angry growl.

"I don't have time to argue with you, Prue," Cole interrupted as he glared down at her. He finally let go of her hands, "stay put. I'll be right back."

Prue scowled and without even thinking, she moved her arm in the motion she typically displayed when using her telekinesis power, in order to give Cole a taste of his own medicine. She'd see how he liked having his body moved from one place to another without his permission, which was exactly what he just done to her. Her retaliation was maybe a bit more rough, but he still deserved it. Nothing happened. Prue frowned and waved her arm again at Cole who seemed just as confused as she felt. Again, nothing happened.

"I can't shimmer..." Cole looked up with an expression Prue would expect from someone who just learned his pet had died. It almost made her feel guilty for trying to use her power against him... but he _was_ a demon, after all... a demon who had just taken her to who-knows-where without her approval. And now it seemed like they were stuck here. She hoped they weren't too far from some sort of public transportation.

"Well, thanks a lot, Cole," Prue glared at him, "I told you-"

"Damn it!" Cole yelled as he slammed his fist harshly against the wall behind him.

This made Prue jump, and she shut her mouth quite quickly. She stared across the dimly lit room with wide eyes as she tried to better see the man's face. What if he _had_ lied to her, just like she had suspected from the start? What if it wasn't all magic that was gone... what if it was only _hers_, or only the Charmed Ones' powers... or even only good magic. What if this was a trap... She was stuck here, with only Cole, a demon who had a history of trying to kill her, and he seemed angry.

Prue took a few steps back as she considered these possibilities. She had trained herself to fight physically, but that couldn't change the fact that Cole was quite a bit bigger than she was... and of course, a demon, who might very well still have his powers, regardless of what he claimed.

She swallowed a lump in her throat as she stared at him and as he continued throwing his little mini-fit. His hands were both clenched into fists now and he was grumbling under his breath as he stared at what appeared to be nothing in particular on the floor, "I told you I didn't have much time!" he finally spoke in an audible tone as he looked back at Prue. He took a step toward her.

Prue took a step back. She didn't know if she should argue with him or just keep her mouth shut at this point. If she could avoid getting into a physical fight with him, she would, but it was beginning to seem like she might not have the option to avoid physical confrontation. He looked very angry, and was coming closer to her with each frustrated word he muttered. She certainly felt more threatened than she'd prefer.

"I was trying to help you, Prue... you and your sisters, but you've always got to be difficult," he took a few more large steps toward her until he had backed her into a corner, "I don't mean you or your sisters any harm. How many times do I have to say it? I hope Piper and Phoebe can get someplace safe, because they sure as hell won't be getting any help from me... No, you made sure that wouldn't be possible when you argued and made this process take as long as possible!" he slammed his fist against the wall next to Prue's shoulder, causing her to flinch.

At that point, Prue was through being silent. Cole had basically cornered her, with one arm up blocking her path of escape and his his other limb currently held with his fist threateningly close to her face against the wall. She didn't appreciate being treated like this. If he wanted to discuss their situation with her, he could so, but to resort to what she interpreted as physical threats was not going to work out. She wasn't interested in being scared into submission. She felt he had been wrong, and she wasn't going to back down, no matter how many times he slammed his fist into walls, and no matter how uneasy his towering height looming over her made her feel.

"I don't have any reason to trust a demon who has a history of trying to murder me and my sisters," she growled.

"Damn it, Prue!" Cole yelled, clenching his hand into an even tighter fist as he inched even closer to her, "you've got to let that go."

At this point Prue was feeling pretty threatened. Cole was much too close for comfort, was yelling at her, and had already thrown a punch at the wall hard enough that it would have knocked her out if he had hit her instead. It didn't make any sense that he seemed to think threatening violence was the best way to get her to trust him. So she shoved him, hard, "I don't have to let anything go, especially not the fact that you tried to murder my family," she spoke in an angry voice, shoving him again, even harder, and stomping her foot down on top of his for good measure.

For a moment he staggered backward and she took the opportunity to dart out of the corner and in search of a door, but she didn't find one fast enough. She felt Cole's hands around her arms as he grabbed her and pushed her bck against the wall, "I was trying to help you and your sisters," Cole insisted, "I can't say this any other way... I'm part demon... That can't be changed, but I'm part human too. I've made my mistakes, and that's in the past. I'll never do anything like that again. I'm sorry... I can't say it any other way. When Belthazor takes over, my human half isn't in control anymore... That's why I've been avoiding becoming him... I don't want to be like that."

Prue winced at Cole's hands harshly squeezing her wrists as he pinned them against the wall, "well, you're human now," she breathed out, unable to completely mask her fear, but also quite able to still show her anger, "and you're showing your true colors. In fact they're shining through quite brightly."

Cole was silent for a moment as he still held onto her firmly. He simply stared at her with narrowed eyes as if contemplating what to do next. He was standing so close to her. She could feel the heat of his body nearly touching hers and could feel his breath moving her hair very slightly. If he wanted to kill her now, he certainly could have. But he didn't. Instead he let go of her and took a step back.

Prue rubbed one of her wrists. Cole hadn't really hurt her; he had just sort of scared her. His grip had been tight, but not necessarily painful. She was more concerned about what he might do - about what he was capable of, than what had had actually been doing. She didn't appreciate him grabbing her or slamming his fists against the walls, but he could have certainly done worse if he had wanted to. She was glad he had let go of her, but was still a bit confused and uncertain about what his intentions were. She stared at him, waiting to see if he was truly calmed down.

Cole shook his head as though ashamed of himself, "I'm sorry," he closed his eyes, "I'm just frustrated... I had a plan to bring you all here, to wait this out... I should have just grabbed you and explained later... Then I would have had time to do the same with Piper and Phoebe."

"No," Prue corrected, "Piper would have heard me probably telling you to get the hell off me in that brief moment, and she would have come into the kitchen and frozen you upon your return for her. We're not that easy to kidnap."

Cole frowned, "I didn't kidnap you."

Prue raised her eyebrows, "uh, yeah... you kinda did..."

He narrowed his eyes, "No, I saved you."

"Yeah, well... that's debatable. I never asked for your help," Prue scowled back at him, "you may have had good intentions, but you can't just force people to do what you think is best for them. I'm an adult, Cole. If I say I don't need your help, that's your cue to back off."

"If you would have accepted my help from the beginning, your sisters would all be safe here with you," Cole glared.

Prue narrowed her eyes. Her sisters were probably much safer than Prue was. They were aware of the situation and were smart enough to take care of themselves. Prue, on the other hand, was stranded both without her powers as well as in the company of a demon she did not trust. At least Phoebe and Piper were probably with each other, and with Leo. Prue would have felt safer if she were all alone.

"Or you could have just let us take care of ourselves, which we were always fully capable of before you showed up," Prue raised her eyebrows at him.

"You three aren't invincible, Prue," Cole frowned, "and I hope you never have to learn that the hard way."

"I know that," Prue pouted, "but we aren't your charges or clients either. If we say we've got something under control, you've got to accept that. You can't force us to accept your help... or rather, what you _perceive_ to be help."

Cole exhaled tiredly, "I'm sorry I forced my help on you," he finally apologized, "it's not my place to tell you how to do what you do... I just wanted to keep you all safe and didn't have the luxury of time. I shouldn't have forced you to come along. I was only trying to do what I thought would save your lives."

Prue frowned, surprised Cole had actually admitted he had been wrong, "just don't ever do something like this again," she frowned. She didn't want to yell or argue anymore. Maybe he truly was being genuine. Perhaps he really had been trying to do the right thing. It's not like he was used to being a decent person. He probably had no idea how to do the 'right thing' in most situations.

Cole smiled, "I'll try... but it's easier said than done. It would be hard for me to not help you out of a difficult situation just because you're being stubborn. You can't really speak for your sisters either. Phoebe would have wanted to come with me. Piper may have even agreed. You never know..."

"Piper and Phoebe will be fine," Prue assured both herself as well as Cole, "They both know what's going on, and they'll make sure to get somewhere safe. Phoebe saw a premonition of the demons coming to the manor. They won't stay there after that."

"I hope you're right," Cole sighed.

**_xxxxxx_**

**_Review, please. :) I'd do it for you... if I was reading a story of yours, that is. It's common fanfiction courtesy to review what you read here... I think so anyway. Thank you in advance. I love you._**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. I typically like to send a little thank you to each person who reviews, but a couple people who have reviewed this story don't have accounts here, or at least weren't signed on to them, so I'd like to acknowledge that I appreciate their reviews. Thank you for the motivation, and I'm very glad to see you're enjoying the story so far. I hope you like the rest as well._**

**_Here it goes:_**

_**xxxxxx**_

Chapter 3

Prue sat on the ground against the wall near the corner with her legs drawn up against her chest and her arms wrapped around them. This place was quite cold, but then, it seemed like they were in a basement. The room had nothing in it besides a radiator that apparently did not work and about ten candles which Cole had lit some time ago. There wasn't any sort of table to put them on though, so they were just propped up on the floor, "where exactly are we?" she asked Cole who paced the other side of the room.

Cole stared at her, "we're in a house in the middle of the woods in Kansas," he answered.

She breathed out an exhausted sigh. She wanted to yell at him again. Why Kansas? What had he been thinking? And how did he even know this house was here? She inhaled, trying to keep her frustration from getting the better of her, "Kansas?" she frowned, settling on the most tame display of her disappointment.

"Yeah," Cole sounded just as annoyed as Prue felt.

"And in the middle of the woods?" she raised an eyebrow, "where are the nearest neighbors?"

Cole shrugged, "not anywhere too close. This is a rundown house literally out in the middle of nothing but trees. That was the point - so no one could find us. No one has lived here for years. There's no phone, no car, nothing... We can't exactly leave and expect to get back to civilization any time soon, but we won't be found either. No one knows we're here, so you're safe. We're here until the demons' spell wears off."

"And when will that be?" Prue wondered.

"I didn't catch that detail. They said it would be a matter of hours or days. I never heard a specific answer on that one," Cole explained, "I didn't exactly want to stick around and dwell on details and not get to you guys in time to tell you what was happening."

"So you got us stranded in a rundown house in the woods, and we might be stuck here for days..." Prue frowned, "Cole," she started, almost laughing at the ridiculousness of his plan, but still somehow maintaining a straight face, "I don't think this was a very solid plan..."

"At least you aren't dead, Prue," Cole glanced over at her, "Phoebe saw you get killed in her premonition, remember? You may be stuck here for a while, but you'll be alive when it's all over."

Prue sighed, "How do I know this isn't a trap?" she wondered out loud, "If you wanted to kill me, this would be a perfect place to do it... Not that I'm trying to give you any ideas... You say you're not going to try anything, but I'm not going to just forget about those times you tried to kill us. You didn't just say something rude or scuff up someones car... You planned and attempted murder. Where I come from, that's not something you just brush off and forget about."

"I'm not asking you to forget," Cole explained, "forgiveness would be nice though."

"That's asking for more than you realize," Prue frowned, "I'm not just upset that you tried to kill me. I mean, I'm not happy about that... but that's not what hurts the most. You tried to kill the people I care about more than anyone in the world... If one of my sisters had been killed, there's no doubt that you would never deserve my forgiveness... They aren't alive because you showed mercy. They're alive because we were skilled enough to keep you from killing us. If your plan had worked out how you intended at the time, my sisters and I would be dead... because of you... and you allowed yourself to get close to Phoebe, knowing you were sent to kill her... Do you realize how cruel that is? To let someone fall in love with you and then kill them?"

"I didn't kill her," Cole set his mouth in a straight line.

"You were going to," Prue looked up at him, "you were sent to kill us, and instead of just doing it, you waited... you bonded with my little sister and waited until she actually thought she was in love with you... and maybe you even felt like you were in love with her too..." she shook her head in disappointment just remembering Cole's previous actions.

"I do love Phoebe, Prue," Cole assured her, "but I didn't fall in love with her on purpose. I was sent to kill the three of you, yes... but I was conflicted, and had the demon half of me urging me to do things I didn't really want to do. I let him have more control than I really wanted him to have."

"And..." Prue explained for him, "you tried to kill us. You are part demon, Cole... The person who tried to kill us wasn't someone else... He was you."

"Balthazor isn't who I am," Cole told her, "He'll always be a part of me, deep down, but not because I want him to be," Cole looked like he felt guilty, "this has plagued me since childhood, Prue. All my life I've been conflicted by this. He's like an addiction... I don't want to become him, but sometimes it just happens."

"And it'll probably happen again one of these days... You'll get the urge to kill one of us... or all of us," she started.

"No," Cole argued, "I'm serious this time... I won't let him take control again. Balthazor is a thing of the past. I'm sorry for all of his actions... for my actions... I'm sorry for being him, and for letting that side of me take more control than I should have. I will always be sorry for what I've done under his name."

"How does that work anyway?" Prue questioned as she narrowed her eyes, "Do you just turn into him at will?"

"I can," Cole answered, "or if I'm very angry or stressed sometimes it sort of happens on its own."

"So basically you're the Incredible Hulk?" Prue couldn't help but laugh as she said this, "only red..."

This produced a smirk on Cole's face as well, "not exactly," he laughed, "Balthazor isn't just blind rage... I can still control myself as him... It's more like he is an alternate version of me... Like a me on steroids... I don't make decisions I would make if I were still completely myself. Balthazor is more brutal and angry. He's more likely to act on impulse."

Prue nodded, "can you still turn into him now?" she asked, still suspicious that this might be a trap.

"Well, no... It would involve a certain aspect of magic, and as you know, magic isn't exactly working right now."

She narrowed her eyes. She hoped he wasn't lying. Sighing, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, "is the rest of this house as cold as it is down here?" she wondered.

"Probably," Cole spoke, "the heat doesn't work. That, and some of the windows upstairs are gone... It's pretty drafty."

Prue shivered and hugged herself closer, "just how far into the woods are we?" she opened her eyes again and stared at Cole as she contemplated leaving this house in favor of fending for herself.

"Pretty far," he offered a sympathetic yet cocky smirk, "I didn't want them to find us. If you're planning to try to walk back to the main road, it's going to take a while. There's not much traffic there either."

"Great," Prue exhaled.

"Here," Cole shrugged out of his jacket as he walked across the basement and squatted down next to Prue, "if we hadn't been pressed for time I would have advised you to wear something a little less... revealing. I knew it would be cold here," he handed her the jacket.

She reluctantly accepted it, "thanks," she forced herself to say. Of course, she wouldn't be here shivering if it weren't for him, so he really wasn't being all that generous. Offering her something warm after having forced her to come here and sit in a freezing cold basement was the least he could do.

Cole slid down the wall so that he was sitting next to her, "I wish you'd give me a chance to redeem myself," he sighed as he stared into her eyes.

"You always have that chance," she told him, "each and every interaction you and I have is part of that chance. Your every move is a deciding factor in whether or not you redeem yourself. You can't just claim you're sorry for trying to kill my family and expect it to all be okay. You've got to show me you've changed before I'll believe you have."

"I still love Phoebe," Cole told her, "and it would mean a lot to me, and to her if you could work on not hating me."

"That all depends on you," Prue told him, "but I'll tell you this much - if I truly hated you... if I had no doubts that you intended to harm either of my sisters, you would be dead already. Consider this as your probationary period. You haven't earned my full trust yet."

"But maybe I will someway?" he asked with hope in his voice.

"Again, that depends on you," Prue responded, "my trust is given only to those who earn it. And earning it isn't necessarily easy to do... But it's possible."

Cole put his arm playfully around her shoulders, "you're like the extremely critical little sister I never had," Cole smirked.

Prue raised her eyebrows back at him, "and you're the demonic big brother I never wanted."

Cole just laughed.

_**xxxxxx**_

_**Please review. :) **_

_**Plenty of exciting, dramatic scenes are on their way... Stay tuned.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hello again, readers. Thank you for coming back. I'm glad to see you've maintained some sort of interest in my story. Thanks again for all the reviews - they are one of the biggest rewards I get for writing on this site... I honestly appreciate each and every review. **_

_**Now, on with the story:**_

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Chapter 4

Cole stared at the flickering flames of the candles on the other side of the room as he sat against the wall next to the eldest Halliwell sister. It had been hours upon hours since he had brought her here. They were pretty much just waiting this out. That's all they could do at this point.

Fortunately Prue had rather easily accepted the fact that they were temporarily stuck with each other. She was actually being a lot easier to get along with than usual, which was certainly foreign to him. Perhaps she was finally beginning to forgive him for his past. Of course she was angry that he had attempted to kill her and her sisters. Cole never expected her not to be. In fact, he was very angry at himself for the same reason. But he promised himself, and he promised Prue, that he would never do something like that again, and he had meant it. Maybe Prue finally understood that.

Sitting here all night certainly was annoying though. They were safe at least, but waiting to see if Prue's sisters had made it somewhere safe as well was killing him. Piper and Phoebe were intelligent women. He wanted to believe they had sorted something out and kept themselves hidden from the demons who wished to kill them, but he still worried that maybe they hadn't. Even if they hid out somewhere, the demons might still find them. He wouldn't know for sure until the spell wore off and they were able to use their magic again. Cole really didn't know how long it would be before magic was usable again. The demons he had been spying on had simply said it would either be hours or days. That was as specific of an answer that he knew.

Moving his hand in front of himself, Cole attempted to use his magic. Nothing happened. He sighed loudly, glancing down at Prue and hoping he hadn't woken her up. She was lucky to have been able to fall asleep so that maybe this boring, long ordeal wouldn't seem as drawn out to her as it did to him.

He was also happy she had been able to allow herself to sleep here, right next to him, because it made him feel like maybe she trusted him on some level. He even still had his arm around her shoulders. She clearly trusted him enough to have not gotten up and moved away from him. Or maybe she just recognized that if he wanted to kill her there wasn't much she could do about it at this point. Cole frowned. He hoped that wasn't the case.

He honestly did want the Halliwell sisters to accept him. Sure, he had tried to kill them before, but he was so glad now that he hadn't succeeded. Prue really was like a sister to him. A rather difficult sister to get along with, but a sister nonetheless. He truly cared about her well being, and in a bigger way than just wanting her safe for Phoebe's sake. He cared about all three of them, more than he'd ever cared about anyone in his whole life. It was such a strange feeling, caring about the well-being of someone who wasn't himself. He hoped Piper and Phoebe had gotten somewhere safe.

Hopefully the spell would wear off soon and everyone would meet back up and things would be just as they had been. With any luck, Piper and Phoebe will have called the police and hidden themselves well. Maybe the human police really could take care of the mob of temporarily mortal demons walking their streets. Of course, unless they posed a serious threat, the police would just arrest them, and the demons would shimmer right out of their jail cells once the spell wore off. That was better than them harming any of the sisters, of course. Keeping the demons at bay even only temporarily was far better than nothing.

Cole nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock at the door.

This woke Prue was well. She was on her feet in seconds flat. It almost made Cole laugh how on edge she clearly was all the time. But then when he considered the reason why she was so paranoid he didn't feel like it was so funny. As the oldest of the Charmed Ones, Prue was the one who was meant to be responsible. She was constantly on guard, watching out for herself and her sisters, and of course demons always seemed to go after Prue with more intensity than they did Piper or Phoebe. Prue was the most powerful, so anyone hoping to cripple the magic of the Charmed Ones knew getting to her would hurt the collective group the most.

"Who is that?" Prue looked up toward the sound as the knocking continued, "You said no one lived here. Do people live here? Maybe someone moved in without you knowing. Does anyone know we're here?" she questioned with a twinge of fear obvious in her hushed voice.

"No, no one lives here," Cole answered as he pulled himself up to his feet, "and no one _should_ know we're here," he added.

Prue simply stared at him with wide eyes, silently asking him what they should do. The knocking continued, louder this time.

Cole sighed, "we're literally in the middle of the woods... there is one dirt road leading directly to this house. There aren't any other houses along the road... Not unless one was built recently. This is the only house for miles as far as I know. No one could find us here..."

"Then who's knocking?" Prue whispered, "someone obviously knows we're here. Who is it?"

Cole shrugged, though he was wondering the same thing, "maybe someone took a wrong turn and is wanting directions back to the highway... Or maybe their car broke down... Though the house looks like it's collapsing in on itself... I doubt anyone logical would think someone was living here."

Prue made a small agitated sound, "maybe we should sneak out the back," she suggested. She looked so worried, "who would knock on the door of an old house without windows? And we have no car. There would be no indication to anyone that this house is being lived in... Like you said, no one in their right mind would think anyone was living here. Someone knows we're here... Someone who's not supposed to know..." She suddenly looked more hurt than worried as she stared at him with her brow furrowed, "You told someone... This _is_ a trap."

Cole shook his head as he looked down at her. She looked angry, but also sad, as though she expected something from him and he had let her down, "Prue... I wouldn't betray you," he assured her, "besides, they'd want to kill me just as much as they want to kill you. I would have been a fool to tell them I was coming here. I'm not exactly on good terms with other demons right now."

"Then you made a deal with them," she guessed, "to save yourself..."

"No," Cole persisted. He was interrupted when the knocking continued, even louder than before.

"Hello?" a man's voice called from above, "anyone home?"

Prue sighed, "I'm leaving," she turned toward the stairs which led up to the first floor of the house.

Cole grabbed her, "if they did somehow find us, don't you think they might be guarding the other exits? I'm sure they wouldn't have just sent one guy... Just stay here for a minute. Keep quiet... I'll go see who it is... and get them to leave."

Prue shrugged out of his grip, "don't touch me," she growled.

"Just please stay put," he urged. The last thing he needed was for her to go off on her own and get lost in the woods. If the demons had somehow found them, she would be in far more danger on her own than with Cole.

She didn't say she would stay put, but she didn't say she'd leave either. Instead, she simply stared up at him.

Cole exhaled tiredly, turned, and slowly began making his way up the stairs as the pounding on the door grew louder and louder and more and more impatient.

"We know you're in there," the voice on the outside taunted, "open up and we'll play nice," the pounding continued.

Cole sneaked around to the other side of the house, careful to avoid coming within view of any of the open or broken windows. He made his way toward the back entrance and peeked out the small window there. Sure enough, two men he didn't recognize stood there. They were guarding the exits, just as he had guessed they would.

"Alright," the man at the door called out, "if you don't want to be hospitable, we'll just come in on our own," the doorknob rattled. It was locked, "Damn it," he heard the man grumble, "I'm getting impatient, Balthazor."

Cole grimaced. He didn't like being referred to by that name.

Then he heard something heavy slamming up against the door... probably a large body. They were going to knock the door in if he didn't let them in soon.

Sighing, Cole slowly made his way back over to the front door, opening it calmly and raising his eyebrows at the men who stood on the front porch, "do you mind?" he spoke sarcastically, "you're going to wake the whole neighborhood."

There were four men on the step. They all stared at him for a moment as though thoroughly unamused. It only took a few seconds for the man in front to begin laughing. Cole recognized this man, though he hadn't seen him in a very long time. His name was Verin. He was the one who had been knocking. Cole thought he had recognized the man's voice before. Verin seemed somewhat happy to see him, but Cole did not share the feeling.

"Balthazor," Verin grinned, "what have you got going on in this old house tonight?" he narrowed his eyes as he leaned to the side to look around Cole and into the house.

"How did you know I was here?" Cole wondered.

"We've been tracking your movements, Balthazor," one of the men in the back explained, "Of course you know very well that we've got allies all over the world. I hope you didn't think jumping from one state to another would mean no one could find you. We knew that you were listening in on our plan, but we also knew you and your witches would be powerless to stop us, so it mattered not. We noticed you went to the Charmed Ones' manor after after your spying session... and then you came here. Why is that?"

Cole shrugged, "I knew you'd be upset with me if you found me... I came here to wait out your spell."

"But not alone," Verin added.

"Yeah, alone," Cole lied.

"Not according to what we saw... See, the whole purpose of our spell was to defeat the Charmed Ones. Naturally, we were tracking their movements as well. A certain demon, who hasn't become a witch-sympathizer like yourself, can see a person's essence and track it along with them to wherever they go. This demon saw that one of the witches came here with you. Naturally, they contacted us to seek her out, since we were already in the general area," the man behind the others spoke again, "although I was a bit surprised at which sister you decided to bring with you. It certainly wasn't the one we would have guessed you'd choose... No, you brought the eldest... the strongest... Though I doubt she's very strong now, just an average, weak, defenseless woman."

"Ahh," a third man spoke up, "does Prue tickle your fancy now too? Do you plan to bed them all?" he laughed.

"I'd let her tickle my fancy," the fourth man laughed as he elbowed Verin in the side.

"Shut up, Orthon," Verin growled as the slapped the other man's arm, "Balthazor, please tell me you didn't already kill her... We had such high hopes for this one."

"And how's that? You decided to bring yourself and a mob of your friends here to all murder a defenseless girl together? Is that what makes you feel powerful?" Cole scowled at him. Demons weren't exactly notorious for playing fair, but it still made Cole angry that six grown men were sent to kill one woman. She wouldn't stand a chance against them.

"She and her sisters have vanquished many friends of mine," Verin explained, "though she seems defenseless now, you and I know it's only temporarily. We must strike while we can. It's only logical."

Cole shook his head in annoyance. It was hardly fair that they would choose to drain the witches of their magic before ganging up on them. Of course, demons never claimed to want a fair fight. To these demonic men, beating the Charmed Ones wasn't about fighting a fair fight and winning. It was about cheating, taking advantage of a loophole, and basically murdering helpless people. Cole didn't personally find much delight in murdering people who had no chance to fight back... though Balthazor may have... Cole understood how a demon might feel... but it made him sick. He hated that about himself. He didn't want to feel any understanding toward this cruel behavior, but deep down, he knew there was a time when he may behaved similarly, though he usually preferred to work alone. He may have once been willing to kill a helpless person, but he didn't think he ever would have ganged up with five other demons to do it.

"She's not here anyway," Cole finally said, "she doesn't trust me. She left."

"Well that's quite a shame. You won't mind us looking then," Verin grinned as he pushed his way into the house, "Cresil, Melchom," he addressed two of his comrades, search the first and second floors. Nysrogh!" he yelled. One of the two men who had been guarding the back door entered and looked at him questioningly, "guard this door," he gestured to the front.

"Of course," Nysrogh agreed, taking his place on the front step.

"Orthon, you and I will check the basement," Verin ordered.

Cole was careful to hide his nervousness. He hoped Prue had somehow managed to get out of the house undetected, but he highly doubted that was possible. He hadn't heard her come up the stairs, and the window in the basement was too high up. She couldn't have reached it.

Holding his breath, he followed Orthon and Verin toward the basement...

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_**Review? Please?**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Welcome back. I apologize for taking longer than usual to update this story. The weekend happened, you see... Thank you for being patient, and thank you to everyone who has reviewed my previous chapters. I still appreciate all those reviews and all future reviews very much. This chapter is much longer than the others I've posted thus far. **_

_**I hope you like it:**_

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Chapter 5

Prue listened intently at the muffled conversation she heard going on above her. Upon going upstairs, Cole didn't answer the door right away. In fact, he had only answered it after whoever had been knocking began acting as though they meant to tear the door down. This probably meant Cole hadn't intended on having visitors, just as he had claimed. She wasn't sure if that meant he was indeed not lying when he said this wasn't a trap, or if simply wanted to take her out on his own. He was certainly in a good position to kill her if that's what he wanted. She was alone, without the aid of her sisters, and without the aid of her magic. If Cole for any reason still wanted her dead, now was his time to act.

Cole was still an enigma to her. He was superficially charming and claimed to have changed his ways, but she was still reluctant to give her trust to someone who may not deserve it. Prue had been hurt too many times by trusting people she shouldn't have. Of course she didn't want to make those kinds of mistakes again.

The voices upstairs continued. She couldn't really make out much of anything they were saying. They weren't speaking loud enough... But they didn't seem too angry. In fact someone up there was even laughing. Prue frowned.

Clenching her hands into fists, she began to scan the basement for some way out that wouldn't involve going upstairs. She knew she shouldn't trust Cole. She told him; she told herself... it was quite obvious all along. He was a demon who was once sent to kill her and her sisters. Of course he would betray her. She just didn't expect him to stand thirty feet away laughing about it within her earshot.

There was a window up near the ceiling. It was small, but she figured she could fit through it if only she could reach it. She peered around the room again as she tuned out the voices of the men on the next floor. There was nothing she could use to stand on. Maybe she could reach it by jumping... Unlikely, but worth a shot.

Prue made her way over to the wall and looked up at the window. It seemed even higher up now that she was looking up at it. Prue frowned as she jumped up with her arms outstretched above her head. She wasn't even close to reaching it.

It was then that she heard footsteps upstairs. Not just Cole's. It was several people.

She could feel her breaths begin to quicken as she felt panic overcome her. She didn't have her powers... These weren't just random men, or even mortal enemies of hers... These were demons... Possibly temporarily mortal, but there were definitely more of them up there than the one of her down here... She was terrifyingly outnumbered and outmatched... and these weren't just people who simply didn't like her - they each definitely wanted her dead and each knew they had only a small window of time to accomplish that task. They were going to show her no mercy.

With shaking breaths and even shakier limbs, Prue scrambled to the staircase and crouched down underneath it. It wasn't a perfect hiding space, but it was the best the basement had to offer. If they came down here, perhaps she would be lucky enough to make her escape up the stairs before they noticed her.

As the footfalls became louder, so did her heartbeat. Prue nearly feared the pounding of her heart would give away her location. She held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut as the footsteps made their way toward the door of the basement and began down the stairs. Though it frightened her, she opened her eyes, knowing she needed to keep her wits about her and stay alert if she wanted to escape.

She listened and watched as three men made their way down the stairs and into the dimly lit basement.

"Oooh, candles," one of them spoke in an amused voice. She peeked through the gap between the stairs and observed him. He was a quite bulky man, not overweight really, but rather overly muscular and very tall, "how romantic, Balthazar," he laughed.

"Orthon, you're an idiot," Cole spoke. He sounded angry, but also seemed to be casually looking around the room for her just like the other two, "see, she's not here," he finally said.

Prue narrowed her eyes. He either didn't know she was still here, or he was doing what he could to keep them from getting to her. She wondered if they would believe him and give up on finding her. That seemed to be too much to hope for.

"So tell me, Balthazar," the other man began, "if you're here by yourself, why have you been cowering down in the basement with a bunch of candles..."

"It's cold up there, Verin," Cole answered, "you saw it yourself - half the windows are broken. Down here, if I light candles and keep the door closed, it's actually not too bad."

Verin breathed out a very annoyed breath, "Damn it, Balthazar!" he yelled, "We know she's here. This isn't a hunch, or a feeling... it's a fact. She was tracked here by a demon who specializes in tracking people... Our methods aren't faulty. She's here somewhere. Tell us where she is and we'll show you both some mercy."

Prue felt herself becoming panicked again as she tried to make herself smaller under the staircase. Apparently these demons had tracked her here somehow, so they knew she was here, or at least that she had been recently. If they turned around, the temporarily mortal demons would be able to see her. The stairs weren't a solid formation; there was a rather open space between each step... She could certainly see them, and that meant they could see her if only they looked harder.

Cole continued glancing around the room, his eyes seeming to fall on her for just a moment. His eyes met hers for only a second, long enough for her to feel fear that she may have been discovered, but short enough that she wasn't even sure if their eyes had met at all. Either he didn't see her, or he was pretending he hadn't.

"I told you, she left," Cole replied, "if you really want to find her, you need to check the woods. She couldn't have gotten far."

Orthon stomped his foot in frustration, "when we find her, she's gonna wish we'd have killed her long ago," he growled.

Prue swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Come on, Balthazar," Verin spoke, "we'll search the woods, but not without your presence. Prue mightn't have trusted you, and neither do I. You probably know exactly where she is, and you want her all for yourself. You're not leaving our sight."

Prue wondered if that was true... Was this a matter of Cole wanting the satisfaction of being able to kill her himself? On the one hand, he seemed to be keeping her hidden and trying his best to ensure the men didn't find her... but what if what they said was true. What if he was only keeping her safe so he could be the one to kill her... Prue honestly wouldn't have been all too surprised. Cole had a habit of being deceptive. She never took anything he said at face value. He always seemed to have some ulterior motive.

The three of demons made their way back upstairs. She wanted to listen to them again, to try to hear which direction they planned on going, but she had so many thoughts swimming through her head so that she just couldn't focus. She needed to get out of here before they came back... But where would she go? Cole had said they were in the middle of the woods. She could follow the road, but wouldn't they look there for her? Should she try to help Cole? What if he was just as innocent in this situation as he made himself out to be... She couldn't just leave him behind. It didn't matter that she suspected that he might be up to something. These demons didn't seem to be on very good terms with him. She couldn't let him be killed because of something she feared he might do... He hadn't done anything wrong. She couldn't allow him to suffer the consequences of actions he hadn't even committed yet, actions which he may have not even had any intentions of committing at all.

As she continued thinking all this over, she heard footsteps and a door close as the men exited the house. She had to get out of here. There was no doubt about that. Perhaps she needed to be thinking like a regular human would, since she sort of was one now... Maybe she needed to get herself out of here and call the police for Cole. Maybe that was his best bet. After all, if she went in search of him, she'd only get herself killed... and then they would probably kill him too. His best chance was for her to inform the police that he was out here with dangerous people who were threatening his life.

Taking in a deep, shaking breath, Prue climbed out from below the stairs. She stayed as quiet as she could, as the men were probably not far from the house yet. She would go upstairs, peek out the windows to see if she could see them anywhere, and then make her escape based off the information she gathered. Perhaps she'd stay near the road, but not on it, until she reached a busier highway, where she could flag down a passing motorist and get help.

She took slow, careful steps up the stairs until she was on the ground floor. Her first move was toward the front door, which had a window by it. She peeked out and immediately winced softly. One of the men was standing on the front step. They had left someone behind to guard the house...

Prue took a timid step backwards, turning around so she could check for another escape route. She walked very quietly around the first level of the house until she found another door leading to the outside. She walked cautiously up to it as well peeking out and seeing yet another man. Prue exhaled softly. She'd have to find a side window then.

Just as she was preparing to turn around yet again, she felt someone grab her quite harshly, slapping a thick hand over her mouth and pulling her back so that she was right up against the person's chest. Whoever had a hold of her was quite large, and his grip was impossible to escape. Her first instinct was to use her powers against him. Even though she already knew they wouldn't work, she tried anyway. It was instinctual for her. Of course her powers were still gone, which was beyond frustrating, and even more terrifying. Prue hadn't often encountered situations like this before she received her powers. Lately, any time she felt trapped, she had magic to back her up. This time, she had nothing. It scared her so much to feel this helpless when she was used to feeling strong and empowered.

With a muffled whimper, Prue brought her hands up to the muscular arm wrapped around her. She struggled to free herself, but it wasn't possible. The arm wrapped around her wouldn't budge even an inch, "Verin suspected Balthazar a liar," a somewhat familiar voice whispered in her ear. It sounded like the man who had been in the basement earlier, the bulky man - he'd been referred to as Orthon, "so he had me stay behind to finish checking the house. Looks like it's my lucky day," he continued in a voice that sounded very matter-of-fact, cocky, and proud.

Prue grasped at the fingers covering her mouth as she felt like her ribs were being crushed under the strong hold Orthon had around her torso. She whimpered again, in pain this time, but still couldn't get either of his limbs to budge.

"Stop squirming," he ordered in an agitated growl, squeezing her tighter.

She felt tears forming in her eyes. She was going to die here. This man meant to kill her, and for the first time in a long, long time, there didn't seem to be any way out. Her powers were gone and the man was much stronger than she could fight against physically. No one who would be interested in helping her was here. Prue was all alone and at the mercy of quite a few people who had wanted her dead for a long while. These were people whose friends she had had a part in vanquishing. They were very angry with her, and she was most definitely outnumbered. There was no way she wouldn't be on the losing side of this fight. The demons had made sure of that.

The arm around her tightened and the thick hand over her mouth pressed down harder. She couldn't even move. She was scared and in pain. He was hurting her, and she couldn't even speak up and beg him to stop due to his huge hand nearly suffocating her and stifling her voice. Nevertheless, she tried, producing only a muffled cry.

Finally, he moved his hand off her face and spun her around so that she was facing him. He gripped each of her upper arms in his hands - his long fingers wrapping completely around them in a steel grip. She feared he might very well break her bones if he didn't ease up.

Prue couldn't control her rapid breathing as she stared up at her captor, "let me go," she urged, "I've got nothing against you... I don't even know you. Let's just part ways and forget each other," she offered between frantic breaths in a desperate attempt to convince him to release her.

Orthon laughed, "that's easier said than done. I won't be able to forget you," he released one of her arms and moved his hand up to her face, brushing some of her hair behind her ear.

She grimaced, flinched back, and swatted his hand away, "keep your hands off me," she growled.

"Getting a little defiant, aren't you, witch?" Orthon looked angry now, yet still playful as he grabbed her arm again and pushed her roughly back against the wall. Her head smacked against it, causing her vision to swim as she struggled to catch her breath, which the ordinarily demonic, but now mortal man had knocked out of her lungs when he slammed her body harshly against the wall.

Prue coughed and gasped as she tried to force air back into her lungs. She was no match for this man. What was she going to do? How could she possibly get out of this situation?

"It's a shame we've got to kill you, Prue," Orthon taunted as he grabbed both of her wrists in one of his large hands and pinned them above her head. He moved his other hand up to her throat, wrapping his fingers loosely, yet terrifyingly around her neck. He moved his thumb slowly back and forth over the delicate skin on her throat, "you're so vulnerable without your magic... You Charmed Ones are a force to be reckoned with on a normal day, but take away your powers and you're just a weak little girl. Killing you will be easy... and that means we'll have plenty of time to have some fun with you first."

"If you do anything to me, my sisters will make sure you suffer for it," she threatened, "if you think there won't be any consequences in this, you're sorely mistaken."

"They won't be able to do much without the power of three," Orthon smirked, "or, you know... if they're dead. There's a whole group of us back in California looking for them... They seem to have hidden themselves, but our men aren't searching blindly. They'll be found."

Prue let out a choked sob as she struggled to pull her arms out of Orthon's tightening grasp. She was so scared, both for her sisters as well as for herself "please don't do this," she begged. She hated begging, but she felt so helpless right now. If she couldn't physically get herself out of this mess, maybe she could talk her way out of it, "let me go..." she winced as he squeezed her arms harder and tightened his grip around her neck at the same time, "please!" she gasped, feeling his hand squeezing her throat closed. Logic gave way to panic now that her breathing was restricted. Of course this demon who had come to kill her wouldn't feel any sympathy for her, "you're hurting me... stop!" she sobbed. What else could she do?

Orthon shook his head as his eyes met hers, "you really are beautiful," he commented, finally loosening his grip around her throat and running his fingers from her neck, down over her chest. He let his hand linger on her chest for a moment, fortunately over the thin material of her shirt. Prue squeezed her eyes shut and tried to shrink away from him. Luckily, that didn't last long. He let his fingers trail down her breast and finally rested his hand flat on her stomach.

She couldn't help but shudder at the feeling of his hands on her. This was worse than any demon attack. When demons attacked her on an ordinary day, they usually aimed to kill... not to taunt or torture. Of course, she had encountered her fair share of demons who couldn't keep their hands to themselves, but she always had access to her powers and could easily defeat them. This time, she was trapped, and she didn't like his wandering hands one bit.

"If you're going to kill me, just do it," she said with a shaking voice as she stared defiantly into her captor's eyes. Of course, she didn't want to die, but if she was going to be killed anyway, she'd prefer that it be quick. She also felt it was important to show this man that she wasn't scared of him, even though she really was.

"Where's the fun in that?" the man asked, moving his hand over her stomach and resting it on her hip as he leaned down and put his face only an inch or so away from hers, "got a kiss for me, witch?"

Prue pressed her lips tightly together and moved her face to the side, as far away from his as she could. She could feel tears actually falling from her eyes at this point. She whimpered again as he ran his hand up her side, under the jacket Cole had given her, and over her bare back. The shirt she was wearing was backless, as were many of her shirts. She was regretting that choice of wardrobe now. This man's touch on her skin made her feel sick.

"Come on now, Prue," Orthon spoke, "don't make this difficult. I don't want to have to get rough with you. I'm only asking for a kiss. You think this is bad; just wait until later... and I'm not even the only one who's going to want a go at you," he laughed, "just one kiss... for now."

"No," Prue whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut again and keeping her face turned away.

She in-took a sharp breath when she felt his lips on her cheek, kissing her there and then moving down to kiss her collarbone.

Prue tried to flinch away but couldn't move. His rough hands still gripped her wrists tight enough to cause bruises, "stop!" she begged, but he wouldn't. He kissed her lower and lower, even as low as the top of her cleavage which was exposed by her low-cut shirt, "stop," she pleaded again, "don't do this... please..." Prue whimpered and tried to thrash her body out of his reach.

He drew back and looked down at her again, eyeing her lips and moving down to try to kiss her again. This time, she didn't dodge the kiss, even though she wanted to more than anything. She did keep her mouth tightly closed though, as his lips met hers.

Exerting nearly all the energy she had, Prue tugged uselessly at her arms, but his hand wouldn't budge. He was too strong; her wrists felt like they were in an iron grip. She needed to escape, and she needed to escape now. This man was moving fast in his plan to hurt and degrade her. The sooner she could get away from him, the better. So she did the only thing she was able to; she slammed her knee up between his legs as forcefully as she possibly could.

He promptly lost his grip on her wrists and growled under his breath as he stumbled backward. Prue immediately began making her way toward the back exit of the house. She had to get out of here.

"You little bitch!" he screamed, quickly composing himself and snagging her arm before she could escape.

Prue cried out as her arm was jerked backward and she was thrown to the ground. Orthon was on top of her in seconds flat, straddling her and grabbing at her flailing arms, "get off me!" she screamed, thrashing her body as best as his larger one on top of her would allow, which was not much at all.

The demon was not in such a playful mood now. He slapped her hard across her face and snatched her arms in his iron grip when she brought them up to defend herself. He slammed her arms against the floor over her head, easily holding them down with just one of his hands. He used his free hand to slap her again, grinning evilly when she whimpered in pain.

Finding it difficult to compose herself, Prue stared up through her tears at the smiling demon on top of her, "let me go," she demanded in a shaking voice, "wait for your cowardly spell to wear off and come fight me when we're on the same level again," she suggested. This was completely unfair.

"We're on the same level right now, Pruedence," Orthon taunted, squeezing her hands tighter and running his free hand down her side and up under her shirt, "we're both basically mortal now. We have no magic... No one here has the power of three to give them an unfair advantage... It's just you and me. No powers. No magic. No sisters... That's just about as even as it gets."

Prue choked back a sob as she pulled at her arms, "don't touch me!" she screamed as she felt his hand moving under her shirt, over the skin of her abdomen. She was panicking now, "get off me!" she cried.

Orthon did not comply. He moved his fingers under her shirt, pushing the fabric up so that her stomach was exposed. Fortunately, the way the shirt was tied in the back prevented him from pushing it up any further than just below her breasts. He'd have had to untie it to expose her body any further. Finally, he moved his other hand off her wrists in favor of having it join he other in its attempt to disrobe her. He moved his second hand down to the button on her jeans, unhooking it easily as his other hand fumbled around toward her back.

With his hands not holding her arms down anymore, Prue finally had the opportunity she needed to get herself out of this situation. She stared up at the cruel eyes grazing over her body. She felt like time was moving at half-speed as she reached up with her hands and clawed at the demon's eyes. He immediately brought his hands up to his face as he growled in anger. Prue pushed him off her and kicked him in the side as she scrambled to her feet.

As quickly as she could, Prue dodged out of his reach and toward the back door. She knew there was a guard there, but she didn't care. Better him than the other man. She slammed the door open and threw a punch at the man who stood on the back step, catching him completely by surprise. As soon as she was outside, she made her way toward the woods. She had no idea where Cole or the other demons men were, but she knew she needed to keep moving.

Her heart pounded as she ran as fast as possible into the trees. She wasn't sure if she was being followed or if she was only hearing her own footfalls on the dried leaves covering the forest floor. Her own frantic breaths and terrified sobs were drowning out any other sounds from her ears.

It wasn't until her foot got caught on something that Prue finally stopped sprinting. Unfortunately, the large branch that had snagged her shoe did more than just trip her up for a moment. It brought her completely down with a pained cry as her wrist broke her fall, and her fall twisted her wrist.

She tried to keep her tears at bay as she untangled foot and cradled her wrist with her other hand. She pulled herself up off the ground only to find that her ankle seemed injured as well. Prue couldn't help but cry out in pain and frustration as she limped forward. Each step was excruciating. She could hear leaves crunching behind her. She was not alone out here.

Prue glanced over her shoulder and saw several silhouettes in the distance. She gasped and turned back around, forcing herself to run as best as she could, but she wasn't nearly at the pace she had been before she fell. She wondered if they could see her too. Maybe she could hide behind a tree and they wouldn't see her...

That didn't seem to be the case. The footfalls behind her were quicker than her own footsteps. They were gaining on her.

_**xxxxxx**_

_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Things got a little violent and scary... Demons are not nice people (except Cole, maybe...)**_

_**Please review. :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sorry it's been taking me so long to update. Reviews motivate me because they show me that people are still reading, and more importantly, still enjoying the story. I feel like most of my readers aren't reviewing (that's how it always goes...) Even so, when I come to this site thinking, "maybe I'll edit my next chapter and post it," and see that hardly anyone has reviewed my previous chapter, sometimes my heart just sinks and I go right ahead and X out of the page and forget I was ever here. If you're not reviewing because you think I'm not writing it well, at least give me some pointers. Tell me what I'm doing wrong...**_

_**To those of you who did review, thank you. I'm sorry I made you wait so long for this chapter... I just lost a whole lot of motivation. You know how it is...**_

_**Here you go:**_

_**xxxxxx**_

Chapter 6

Prue could barely see anything in what little light was provided by the moon shining through the thick forest surrounding her. Her vision being clouded by her tears only made matters worse. Nevertheless, she continued to run as best as her throbbing ankle would allow. She was out of breath and in pain, but she had to keep going. She could hear several pairs of feet crunching leaves and snapping twigs as they ran behind her. They were getting closer and closer by the second. She whimpered as she tried to run faster, doing her best to ignore the stabbing pain she felt each time her foot touched the ground. This was one race she could not afford to lose.

As she continued running, she felt her lungs burning as they took in her rapid, frantic breaths. Even if she were holding still right now, she knew she'd be nearly hyperventilating. She was hurt, tired, and scared, and was definitely in no position to be required to outrun a small group of demons. She knew she couldn't outrun them forever. They would either lose track of her, or she would be caught, and then most likely would be made to suffer before finally being executed. Prue choked out a whimpered sob as she forced her exhausted legs to carry her onward. She didn't know what she would do if Orthon got a hold of her again. What _could_ she do?

Still trudging along, Prue stumbled and fell once more when she somehow stepped entirely wrong, putting too much pressure on her hurt ankle. She cried out a pained gasp as her already injured wrist broke her fall yet again. She felt so defeated at this point. Running hurt. Even just standing hurt. She was frightened and out of breath. If she hadn't been so scared right now, she'd have given up and just stayed lying on the ground. But she couldn't afford to do that. Allowing herself to be caught again wasn't an option. She knew what these demons were capable of. She never wanted to cross paths with Orthon in particular ever again and she guessed the other demons probably weren't much better.

With a pained whimper as she tried to avoid putting pressure on either of her inured limbs, Prue crawled forward and attempted to pull herself back up into a standing position. As she struggled to stand, she felt someone grab her from behind with strong hands, effortlessly pulling her backwards up to her feet.

"Let go!" she ordered in a panicked scream, using both of her hands, including the injured one to pull at the hands now gripping her arms. She threw her elbow back against the chest of whoever was dragging her up off the ground, "get off me!" she pleaded as she kicked backwards, trying anything and everything to get away from him.

But whoever held onto her did not let go. He simply dragged her along, turning toward the right rather than continuing to go further into the woods. He was taking her out of the trees. It didn't take long at all for him to lift her off the ground and throw her over his shoulder so that he was carrying her rather than pulling her along. Now that he wasn't dragging her, they were moving faster.

She still fought with him, clenching her uninjured hand into a fist and slamming it against his back as hard as she could. She could feel frustrated tears welling up in her eyes. She had only been free for a few minutes, and now she had been caught again. Prue hated feeling helpless. She hated it when a situation was out of her control. Prue slammed her fist hard against the man's back, "Let me go!" she screamed. He still held onto her tightly, all but ignoring her struggles.

"Stop it, Prue," an exhausted voice ordered between deep breaths as he gripped her tighter and continued running.

"Cole?" she asked, trying to position herself so that she might see his face. It sounded like him, but she didn't normally hear him so out of breath. She couldn't be sure. Having been thrown over this person's shoulder, Prue couldn't really twist herself far enough back to see his face. She felt the back of his shirt and squinted at it in the darkness of the night. It looked like what Cole had been wearing, or at least, she thought it did... He had been wearing a white dress-shirt, right? Now that she thought about it, she wasn't so sure...

"Just hold on," he answered, "I'm trying to lose them."

It certainly sounded like Cole's voice, and the words he said wouldn't have made much sense if it weren't him. She wanted to feel relieved, but she still didn't trust Cole. What if what that demon had said back at the house were true? What if he wanted to kill her... It's not like she would be safer staying with the other men, but she didn't necessarily trust Cole either... It seemed she was quite possibly doomed either way. At least if she stayed with Cole, however, she'd only have to worry about fighting off one person if he turned against her.

Prue looked up so that she could see behind them as Cole continued to run. She didn't see anyone back there anymore, "I think you lost them," she commented.

He ran on a few minutes longer, finally deciding they had made it far enough once they were out by the dirt road Cole had mentioned before, "we can follow this road out to the highway," he suggested as he finally put Prue down.

She winced as her feet settled on the ground, which served as a painful reminder that her ankle was still hurt.

Cole put his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes, which unfortunately were still brimming with tears. She could feel that there were tear streaks down her face as well. She reached up and wiped her cheeks with her sleeve, which was actually not her own sleeve, but rather Cole's. She still wore the jacket he had lent to her earlier. She sniffed back more tears as she stared back at him, not sure what to say.

Prue felt awkward as she noticed Cole's eyes looking her over. She frowned and looked down at herself. The button on her jeans was still undone and her shirt was not quite in place where it should be. Feeling a little embarrassed, she buttoned her jeans and straightened her shirt, avoiding eye-contact with Cole as she did so.

"What happened?" Cole wondered. She could hear concern in his voice.

Shaking her head, Prue spoke in a soft, uncertain voice, "nothing... it's nothing," she lied as she kept her eyes focused on the ground and wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to somehow make herself feel safer. She really just wanted to forget everything that had just happened. Orthon had really scared her. He had made her feel so helpless. She knew if she thought about it too much or told Cole exactly what had happened, she might start crying again, and she really wanted to avoid that if she could.

"Prue?" Cole questioned. His hands were still on her shoulders. He expected an actual answer, she supposed.

She looked up at him. His eyebrows were furrowed with concern as he stared into her eyes. He honestly did look like he cared, though Prue couldn't understand why he would. He'd been sent to kill her and her sisters, and had even attempted it... Prue had disliked him from their first meeting, and she had not kept that a secret at all. Prue had rarely showed Cole any understanding or kindness. Why would he care if she was alright? She narrowed her eyes as she searched his, trying to understand his motives, "I'm fine, Cole," she promised, hearing her voice shaking as she spoke. Prue inhaled a trembling breath and closed her eyes to calm herself, "we should get moving," she whispered, looking down at the ground again.

Cole placed his fingers gently on her chin and tilted her face up so he could see her eyes, "Prue... honestly, are you alright?" he asked, still looking very worried.

For a moment, Prue simply stared back at him. Some part of her wanted to tell him how scared she had been. She wanted someone to know that she really wasn't alright at the moment. Orthon had wanted to do despicable things to her. If she hadn't escaped, he would have hurt and abused her before finally killing her. She had very narrowly escaped torture and death, and even still was not completely safe. Orthon and his comrades weren't going to give up just like that. Prue was honestly terrified. She needed someone to assure her that she would get out of this alive and okay, even if she didn't really believe she would.

"Prue," Cole spoke again, speaking to her in a tone she'd expect him to use if speaking to a child and leaning down a few inches to look at her closer, "are you okay?"

Her lip trembled as she contemplated what she should say. Prue was not in the habit of going to anyone besides her sisters when she needed help or a shoulder to cry on. She was strong, or at least appeared to be on the outside. Even so, she wanted more than anything to break down and cry right now. She feared she wouldn't ever go home again, would never see her little sisters again. She felt scared and sad. Cole was still looking into her eyes, which were brimming with tears. His face looked more and more concerned with each passing silent moment.

Finally, Prue couldn't contain her emotions any longer. She shook her head as she felt new tears filling her eyes. She didn't know what else to do, so she threw her arms around Cole and began sobbing. She finally felt relatively safe for a moment, and her adrenaline was wearing off fast. She had been so scared back at the house. Though she still didn't trust Cole completely, he was the closest thing to a symbol of safety at the moment. The concerns he expressed felt real. Against her better judgement, she took what Cole was saying at face value and assumed he was sincere.

If she were in her right mind, she would have told Cole that this mess was all his fault and she would have been reluctant to even speak to him. Yet at the moment, she felt entirely more vulnerable than she was used to feeling. Cole had just helped her, and for the moment, she was grateful, and much more emotional than usual.

He hugged her back securely, "you'll be okay," he promised, putting his hand on the back of her head and holding her close against his chest, "I won't let them hurt you again."

Prue continued sobbing. She had been so scared. These men who were after her weren't just wanting her dead... They wanted to torture her first. It wasn't enough that she was vulnerable and could be killed easily. They wanted to take their time and make her suffer as much as possible. What if they caught up to her again? What would they do? How much would she suffer before they finally ended her life? Orthon in particular was certainly terrifying to her. What would he be doing to her now if she hadn't escaped when she did?

She shuddered and gripped Cole tighter. Though she still didn't know if she could trust him, she knew he was at least on the surface a far better alternative than the other demons. He may yet betray her, but at the moment, he didn't seem interested in hurting her, so she went against her better judgement and allowed him to pull her closer as he continued speaking comforting words.

"You're safe now," Cole spoke as he softly ran his fingers through her hair, "I'm sorry I got you into this mess, Prue," she could hear a frown in his voice, "but I'm going to do what I can to get you back out of it."

Although Prue did feel safer wrapped in Cole's arms, she knew they needed to move on. They weren't safe just sitting out by the road. That, and she really wasn't sure if putting any more trust in Cole than she already had was such a good idea. She couldn't simply forget that he was a demon, or that he had tried to kill her on more than one occasion in the past. This moment needed to end, sooner rather than later. Prue couldn't allow herself to feel safe with him, because she knew deep down in her heart that she probably in fact was not safe at all. But she waited a minute longer, until her tears finally stopped flowing. After taking in a few steadying breaths, Prue was ready to get back to her old self.

Once Prue had finally pulled herself together, she broke the embrace, "I'm sorry," she looked down, "that was inappropriate," Prue wasn't accustomed to allowing anyone to see her like that, let alone a demon who was dating her sister against Prue's advice to the younger Halliwell. Prue's and Cole's relationship was most definitely a hostile one. The last person she expected sympathy or care from was him. She sniffed back her tears and tried to compose herself.

Cole shook his head, "it's fine, Prue," he assured her. She looked up to see that he was looking at her with a very confused look on his face, like he wasn't sure how to deal with her. She knew she shouldn't have broken down like that. Cole probably wasn't used to comforting people, as his usual job description was mercilessly killing them, "I noticed you limping earlier," he changed the subject, "are you hurt?"

She furrowed her brow and shook her head, "It's nothing serious... I may have twisted my ankle when I fell. I was running so fast, and the ground was uneven. I should have been more careful... I'm just going to have to deal with it until we get out of here," she told him, "my wrist too," she frowned.

"I can help you walk," Cole offered, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her arm up over his own shoulders, "use me for support," he suggested, "and don't put much weight on your hurt ankle."

"Okay," she nodded as she allowed him to begin leading her down the road, but still near the trees so they could dodge back under the cover of the foliage if they needed to.

"What happened back there?" he finally asked as they continued making their way down the dirt road, "I've never seen you run that fast," he forced a small laugh she could sense was not genuine. Prue could tell he didn't know how to approach this subject. Neither of the two of them usually spoke to the other in any way that didn't involve snide comments and insults.

Prue forced a smile as well. After all, it was easier to joke about this than express her true feelings on the matter, "after you guys left, I came out of the basement, but one of them was still in the house," she frowned, "I didn't know he was there until he sneaked up on me and grabbed me..."

Cole nodded in understanding, "It was Orthon, wasn't it?" he grimaced.

"Yeah," Prue looked down at her feet, "he's a little rough," she forced another laugh, but she didn't think it was funny at all. In fact, she could feel tears welling back up in her eyes as she explained what happened, but left out the agonizing details. She didn't really want to relive the feeling of his rough, groping hands or his forced kissing at the moment. So she opted for a very short, vague, and concise version of events instead, "He had a hold of me, and had made his intentions quite clear... I couldn't break free for a few minutes..." she shook her head and closed her eyes, "I finally got away from him for a second and I bolted... Not having my powers sucks, Cole... Being an ordinary mortal has no advantages if demons are just going to attack me anyway."

"I'm sorry I left you in there with him," Cole apologized, "I figured if I told them you had left, they'd all come along to search for you... I didn't consider that they might split up. Then when some of them decided to stay behind, I knew there was no way I could communicate that to you without them figuring out you were in the house... I thought I was offering you a way out... It backfired."

"It's okay," she smiled slightly, "I appreciate that you tried... and probably at great risk to your own well-being," she hoped if he really was trying to trick her that her words would at least make him feel guilty enough to not go through with whatever he had been planning. Of course, demons didn't often work like that, but hopefully Cole's human side would.

_**xxxxxx**_

_**Please review. Are you still liking it? Am I writing it horribly? Let me know. Thank you.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hello again. Thank you for your continued interest in this tale, and thank you to each person who reviewed my previous chapter(s.) It really makes my day to see positive reviews on my stories. I realize this type of writing isn't as creative as an original story (I'm using someone else's characters, after all,) but even so, I do spend a lot of time on each of my stories. I often write the entire story before posting any of it, and after the whole story is finished, I read back over it tirelessly, adding more chapters between wherever I feel they fit and are needed, and more scenes and dialogue, and just editing it for grammar and word choice. This stuff is time consuming and maddening, so it's nice to see that people appreciate it. **_

_**As a thank you to everyone who reviewed, here's another chapter, posted on what is a Saturday evening in my timezone. Did you hear that? It's Saturday night... I could be doing any number of wild things, but I'm choosing to update my fanfiction story instead. But wait a minute... fanfiction **_**is**_** pretty wild. Yeeeaaaahhhh! Here it goes!**_

_**xxxxxx**_

Chapter 7

Only the light of the moon guided them as the demon and witch made their way slowly down the side of the dirt road. Cole was practically carrying Prue along with him. He had his hand around her waist and he had pulled her arm up over and around his shoulder. Due to his much taller stature, her feet barely touched the ground. It probably would have been easier for both of them if Cole straight up carried her, but he knew Prue had too much pride to allow him to do that. She'd rather half-way walk and cause herself pain than to admit she needed any more help from Cole than she had already accepted. Their pace was slower than he would have liked, but at least they hadn't come across any unsavory characters yet.

Cole couldn't help but feel extremely guilty right now. Though he had tried to help the Halliwell sisters, he had only succeeded in getting Prue into what was probably the most dangerous situation she'd ever been in. He had no idea that any of the demons involved in this plan even knew he was still alive. Of course he didn't think they would be tracking him. He had figured this house in the middle of nowhere would be the safest place imaginable... but he had been sorely mistaken.

He'd put Prue in very precarious position, which did not do anything at all to help him gain her trust. He could tell she was still skeptical of his intentions, but he could also see that she felt some degree of comfort around him. She obviously trusted him enough to show him that she was afraid. He knew Prue relatively well by this point; he knew she didn't express her fears and doubts to just anyone.

In fact, he had never seen Prue so frightened before. The eldest Halliwell sister was usually quite careful to keep a calm, strong facade, but she had let that courageous mask fall tonight. When she had broken down and cried into his chest, Cole hadn't known what to do or say. The fact that the ordinarily stoic witch had shown him so much uncertainty and emotion meant she must have been beyond terrified. Cole knew what kind of demon Orthon was. He knew he wasn't one to keep his hands to himself. He was cruel and brutal, even more so than an average demon. Cole regretted that his actions had caused Prue to end up in the same room as that man. He was surprised she wasn't more angry at him, considering it was his fault she was here right now, and his fault she had had to deal with Orthon.

He glanced down at her as they continued making their way down the dirt road. She had a pained look on her face as her eyes were closed and her mouth set in a straight line, "you doin' okay down there?" he wondered as he stopped walking for a moment.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, offering a very forced-looking smile, "I'm great," she lied.

"Do you need to take a break?" he asked.

She exhaled tiredly, "yeah."

Cole let go of her slowly so that she wouldn't lose her balance. She sat down on the side of the road and breathed in deeply. She had barely even been walking; Cole had been doing most of the work. Of course, she wasn't exactly heavy, but she was still an entire wasn't sure why she seemed so tired, "what's wrong?" he asked, furrowing his brow as he looked her over.

Shaking her head, Prue closed her eyes for a moment and exhaled again, "you've been kind of dragging me by my arm," she explained, bending her left arm at the elbow and rolling her shoulder back, "and I'm just tired... But we've got to keep moving," she pulled herself up, wincing as she stood and looked down the dark path of the dirt road, "I don't want them to find us," she sad nervously.

Cole nodded. She was right. They needed to keep moving, "you want me to carry you?" he offered.

"Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed, limping forward, and wincing with each step.

"You've got to let me help you somehow," he offered, "you're just going to hurt yourself worse. It's really no problem for me. I could carry you easily, and then you won't have to walk on your ankle."

"That's okay, Cole," Prue denied his offer, "I'll be okay," she walked forward with slow, cautious steps."

Exhaling, Cole glared at her, kind of annoyed that she was being so difficult, "we'll move faster if you let me help you," he explained.

"I'm fine," she persisted, her voice showcasing her annoyance.

Cole shook his head and rolled his eyes as he followed behind her. They weren't going to make much progress like this. He supposed if it came to it, he'd just have to grab her up and carry her whether she liked it or not. Her pride was not going to get her killed, not if Cole could help it.

"Cole?" Prue turned around and stared at him with wide eyes, "do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he listened. It sounded like a car.

Prue gasped and grabbed his hand, "we've got to get off the road," she urged in a panicked whisper.

Now Cole could see headlights from around a bend in the road behind them. They were coming from the direction of the house. The demons who had tracked them there must have had some sort of vehicle with them. They must have walked back to it when they lost track of their prey.

Cole grabbed Prue and pulled her quickly toward the woods. He could move faster than she was moving, so he didn't give her the option to walk herself this time. He wasn't really sure if the headlights had hit them just before they made it into the trees, but the vehicle was moving slowly, as though the driver was searching the sides of the road meticulously.

"Do you think they saw us?" Prue gasped.

Cole put his hand over her mouth as he crouched down behind a bush, dragging Prue down with him. They needed to stay still and silent. If they moved deeper into the woods, whoever was in the vehicle might see movement or hear the cracking of branches and crunching of leaves under their feat. They had no other choice than to just hold still and hope for the best. He could still see the road. The vehicle was a van, and was now moving at a very slow pace. Maybe they had been spotted... He winced as the van came to a stop and he heard the vehicle's doors open. He heard Prue whimper under his hand as she shrugged out of his hold and grabbed at his hand with hers.

"Let go of me," she ordered in a rather angry sounding whisper.

"Sorry," he whispered, still keeping his focus on the road. He still wasn't sure if they had seen Prue and him or not. He felt panic and dread filling his chest. What was he going to do? Why else would they have stopped if they hadn't seen those they were searching for? He remained still. Running now would surely result in them being spotted.

"Come out now and we'll go easy on you," he heard Verin's voice.

Prue shrunk back with a barely audible gasp as she moved herself slightly behind Cole. She had one of her hands on his arm to keep herself steady and the other clutched the back of his shirt as she shrunk down behind him like a shy child hiding from a distant relative behind her parent.

Cole continued to remain still and silent.

"Very well," Verin spoke once more as he began walking toward the edge of the forest. He was followed by three of his comrades, Orthon, Cresil, and Melchom. They didn't seem to be armed, which was odd. Unfortunately he and Prue were not either. It was very likely that the demons could have any number of concealed weapons though. Cole knew he hadn't any weapons on him, and suspected Prue didn't either.

He felt Prue grip the back of his shirt tightly with shaking hands, but she remained quiet. Neither of them knew what to do. Staying quiet would only get them so far. Their pursuers were quite close to them at this point. They would be spotted in no time.

"Well, hello," one of the demons spoke as he drew back the foliage of the bush Cole and Prue were hiding behind. It was Cresil, a demon Cole had heard of, but didn't really know personally, "Verin, over here," he called.

Cole wasn't going to go down without a fight. There were only four of them. He could take them on. It was their best and only chance at surviving this. If he could take care of them one at a time, he could ensure Prue got home safely to her sisters, that is, if the other Halliwells had managed to stay safe during the magic drought.

He stood up in a flash and tackled the man, leaving them both rolling around on the ground for a moment, swinging harsh punches and each trying desperately to get the upper-hand. Cole punched Cresil hard in the jaw, causing the other demon to growl in anger and swing back at him. Cole dodged his opponent's fist. Over the years, Cole had become quite skilled at physical fighting, and that was coming in handy now.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cole saw Prue scramble off into the woods. Of course, her ankle was still injured, so she wasn't going to make it very far. He grimaced and continued his fight witch Cresil, punching the demon hard only to receive an equally hard punch himself. Cole grasped at the other man's hand, squeezing one of his fists so that it felt like he had broken at least one Cresil's fingers.

Cresil let out an agonized shriek as he reached out and clawed at Cole's face, creating a long scratch across his cheek.

Growling angrily, Cole wrapped his arms strongly around the demon's body, positioning him so that he couldn't move or fight back. He was tired of fighting. He needed to just get this over with so he could go after Prue and make sure he caught up to her before someone else did. He finally managed to get the demon into a sort of choke-hold, squeezing his arms tightly and finally twisting the man's head in sharp, forceful movement. He had broken the demon's neck. Cresil was dead.

Cole was out of breath as he let the man's limp body fall to the ground. He stood up and looked around. No one had stepped in to save Cresil. The other demons weren't concerned with helping an ally. They cared more about finding their prey. They had all gone after Prue.

Growling in frustration, Cole ran off in the direction Prue had gone. He knew she couldn't have gotten far, as his scuffle with Cresil had only lasted a matter of minutes. He could hear commotion in the nearby distance as he ran toward the sounds. They were the sounds of several pairs of feet running as well as the occasional shout. It didn't take him long to reach a small clearing in the woods, just in time to witness Melchom catching up to Prue and tackling her to the ground.

Prue cried out in pain as Melchom landed on top of her. Cole could see her struggling against him with agonizing futility, "let me go!" she cried as she maneuvered herself onto her back under the demon who hovered over her. She groaned in frustration, swinging a punch at the demon who was nearly twice her size and hitting him in the jaw. It was probably the hardest blow she could land, but Malchom didn't seem phased by it.

The demon only laughed as he swung a punch right back at her, hitting her across the cheek and causing her to whimper and bring her hands up to defend herself. Melchom then grabbed her arm and pushed it against the ground next to her so he could hit her again. As he raised his hand up to swing at her, she grabbed at his arm with her free hand. He simply smacked it to the side and delivered another harsh blow to the side of her face. Prue cried out as she moved her free arm up to shield herself from being struck again.

The witch whimpered as Melcom grabbed her arm and quite roughly pulled her to her feet. He twisted her arms behind her back harshly and stood behind her.

Cole frowned and clenched his hands into fists. He hadn't caught up to them fast enough to step in and help her.

"Nice work, Balthazar," Orthon laughed.

Prue's wide eyes stared at him questioningly as she inhaled and exhaled panicked, pained breaths. These demons pretending like he was somehow in on their plan were not helping at all with Prue's lack of trust toward Cole.

"Cresil is dead," Cole informed them, moving his eyes between Verin and Melchom, "and so will you be if you don't release her right now."

Melchom laughed and did something that Cole couldn't see, but which caused Prue to groan in pain, "why on earth would be just let her go? You've let your human side take you over, Balthazar."

Cole winced, "is this really what makes you feel powerful?" he questioned, "you're too weak to beat the Charmed Ones on an ordinary day, so you turn them into mortal women and gang up on them one at a time. Does it make you feel strong to hurt someone half your size?" he growled.

"A Charmed One is a Charmed One," Verin spoke, "it doesn't matter how we kill her, or under what circumstances. We won't be remembered for killing a mortal. We'll go down in history for killing the most powerful of the Charmed Ones. The details don't matter."

Cole shook his head, "wouldn't you feel more proud of yourself, Verin, if you were to defeat her fairly, on your own without these men here to hold her down? Does this not make you feel like a coward?"

Verin shrugged, "I don't think you fully grasp your demonic side, Balthazar," Verin laughed, "this isn't about being honorable or fair. This is about defeating an enemy, and of course, having a little fun while we're at it. We've been trying to get rid of the Charmed Ones for several years now. There was talk of getting rid of them before they even _knew_ they were the Charmed Ones. We could have killed them when they were children. But there were debates between whether they should be killed, or just raised by demons and taught to use their magic for us. We waited too long to make a solid choice and then it was too late for that. This has been a long time coming, and it's finally time to end it."

At that, Verin motioned for his men to follow as he began walking back toward the road. But Cole wasn't done fighting just yet. He wasn't going to just let these demons kill Prue without him standing up to defend her. Prue was like his sister. She was his friend, and he was going to fight to protect her. He lunged at Melchom, tackling both him and Prue down to the ground. He heard Prue wince and hoped he hadn't injured her further.

Grabbing at Melchom's arms, Cole glanced over to Prue who was scrambling to her feet. He hoped she would stay nearby, as he knew running would do her no good at all considering her ankle was injured. She'd never be able to outrun these men. At least if she stayed near, Cole might be able to step in and help her if she needed it.

Verin must not have been prepared to lose another of his comrades, for he was on Cole within seconds, pulling him up off Melchom and swinging punches in the process, "you disappoint me, Balthazor," he growled as he pulled Cole to his feet. Melchom took this opportunity to punch Cole in the stomach while Verin held his arms back. He hit him again, and again, until Cole saw two small hands wrap around Melchom's neck from behind.

So Prue hadn't run off this time after all...

This threw off Melchom's balance. He stumbled backward and tried to turn toward his assailant who still gripped his neck firmly, as Cole worked to shrug out of Verin's firm hold on his arms. Cole spun himself around, throwing a heavy punch at Verin's gut and then shooting a quick glance in Prue's direction to make sure she was doing okay. Though Prue was injured, she was actually holding her own in this fight, hitting, dodging her attacker, and even somehow delivering a rather harsh kick to Melchom's head. For a moment, Cole thought they might just make it out of this alive.

They had nearly forgotten the third demon who was still out in the woods with them. Thus far, he had kept rather quiet, but that was all over. He stepped out from the shadows, quickly grabbing Prue from behind and shouting to gain the attention of the other demons. Cole swallowed a lump in his throat as he fixed his gaze on Orthon, who held Prue in front of himself in a crushing grip. He also held a small knife up to her throat. Prue's eyes were squeezed shut as she breathed in and out heavily.

"Balthazar," Orthon began, "let's get back to the house, hm?" he pressed the knife closer against Prue's pale skin, causing her to wince.

Cole raised his hands in defense, complying without another word. Melchom and Verin grabbed his arms, forcefully leading him back toward the van while Orthon dragged Prue in the same direction. Though they were still in hot water, Cole didn't feel they were completely doomed just yet. Only six men had come out to the house, so far as Cole could tell, and there were only five left now.

With any luck, more opportunities like the one Cresil had offered would arise before Cole or Prue got seriously hurt. The two of them couldn't take on all five demons at once, but one at a time was a much more realistic possibility. Prue was not incapable of defending herself if the conditions were right. Sure, it was difficult for to throw a six-foot tall man off of her, but given a level playing field, she could inflict some serious damage. If Orthon hadn't grabbed her, she may have even won her fight with Melchom. And Cole was certainly capable of winning a fight. He knew that from personal experience.

There were only three demons with them at the moment. If they played their cards right, they might just be able to get out of this yet.

_**xxxxxx**_

_**I hope no one is aggravated at Prue seeming so vulnerable in this story. The idea is that she's really outnumbered, and by people much bigger than she is, and is of course weakened by not having access to her magic. I know she's not completely defenseless. She's a smart, strong, capable young lady, and I'm trying to convey that while also being realistic. She's fighting back here and there and doing small bits of damage to these guys, but she's not a superhero. Even Cole, as strong and awesome as he is, can't fend off six people without his magic. Getting out of this has been and will continue to be a chore for both of them.**_

_**Please continue with your awesome reviews. :) Thank you!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Welcome back to the story. Thank you for your presence, and thank you to everyone who has been reviewing. You're all making me feel so happy. Here is the next chapter. I hope you like it:**_

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Chapter 8

As the group of four demons and one witch began walking back toward the van parked along the edge of the woods, Prue inhaled a shaking breath, trying her hardest to keep quiet and remain calm. Orthon held onto her tightly, with one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders. In that hand he gripped her upper arm in a tight enough hold that Prue could almost feel the finger-shaped bruises forming there. His other hand held a small knife, which he would occasionally move threateningly toward her if he felt she wasn't cooperating to his standards.

Being in Orthon's possession again made Prue feel sick. It was the kind of feeling she used to get before a job interview, only ten times worse. Unlike in the case of a job interview, this time Prue knew there was nothing she could say or do in order to come out ahead. She felt nervous and scared and completely dreadful all at once.

If not for the ever-present knife, which was currently being pressed up against her throat as they walked, she would have fought back against him. The knife represented certain death, but if it weren't a factor, she would have stood a chance, even if it were slim. Fighting against an unarmed man meant she might die, but she might succeed in escaping. Fighting against a man with a weapon increased her chances of being killed dramatically. As long as he kept that knife so threateningly close to her, she couldn't be willing to take that chance, but as soon as she saw an opportunity, she was going to take it. Prue feared death, but she feared Orthon more.

She breathed in slowly. He threatened her with the knife so that he could get what he wanted from her - so that he could delight in hurting her before killing her. Prue's death was the demons' main objective. Hurting her first was just something extra to them. There was no way they would just let her go after having their 'fun' with her.

Whether she complied and let them do what they wanted to her before she was killed didn't really affect the final outcome. It would only prolong the inevitable, which would work for her benefit only if she were stalling for time and had an escape plan. If she wasn't going to break free of their grasp, she would certainly die tonight. She might as well not let them degrade her first. Her full cooperation would only mean she'd suffer before she died. Fighting back would mean she might be killed sooner, but staying still would mean she would definitely be killed, only after a lot of unnecessary pain. If the situation began to look too dire, she'd just have to fight back anyway, at any cost... let him kill her so at least he wouldn't have the satisfaction of torturing her first.

She exhaled a soft breath when Orthon finally moved the knife away from her again and continued pulling her along through the woods. She hadn't been struggling really when he had pressed the knife threateningly against her. He hadn't needed to threaten her again just then. She supposed he simply didn't want her forgetting the knife was there.

Prue winced yet again as she accidentally put too much weight on her hurt ankle. She stumbled slightly, but didn't fall, as Orthon held onto her very firmly. He obviously didn't want her to get away again.

"What's the matter, little girl?" Orthon taunted, "One of the most powerful witches on the planet, and you can't even walk?" he laughed.

She didn't respond. If she mentioned her ankle was hurt, he'd probably take advantage of that fact and make her walk faster. This man had no sympathy for anyone.

He hugged her tighter against himself as he dragged her along.

Prue gripped his arm with her hands and tried to pull herself away. She didn't mean to escape just yet, as she knew she couldn't outrun the demons. Running would only result in more pain when they easily caught her. She just didn't like him squeezing her so tightly and so close. But her struggles only resulted in Orthon gripping her tighter and bringing his knife up to her chest. He pointed it toward her heart as he paused his walking for a moment, "you want to die right here, witch?" he threatened with an angry tone as he shook her with each word, "I'm getting tired of your defiance."

She still remained quiet. It was a rhetorical question. Of course she didn't want to die. He knew that. And she knew that even if she had said yes, he wouldn't have acted on his threat. He hadn't gotten what he wanted yet. He didn't want to kill her until later, so he wasn't going to just because she struggled against him.

Nevertheless, the knife pressed threateningly over her heart made her nervous. He might not kill her on purpose just yet, but he could very well hurt her, or even accidentally stab her, so Prue held still and waited for him to calm down.

The demon gripped her even tighter now, pulling her close, leaning down so that his face was close to her hair, and inhaling deeply, "I don't want to kill you yet, Prue," he whispered between breaths, "keep in mind that the more you cooperate, the more gentle I'll be, up until the very end. If you fight with me the whole time, you're just going to end up suffering more."

Prue grimaced and tried to shrink down away from him.

"Orthon, stop!" Cole shouted. Prue glanced back in the direction of his voice. Melchom and Verin were walking next to him, no doubt making sure he didn't try to escape either.

"Come on, Orthon," Verin spoke, "if you want to have your fun with her, we need to be getting back to the van. Our time is limited, you know."

"Fine," the demon gripping Prue agreed, moving the knife away from her chest and dragging her roughly forward. She winced as he forced her to walk faster than her twisted ankle would have preferred.

"I feel sorry for you guys," Cole spoke from behind them, probably so Orthon's attention would be taken off Prue for a moment, "It's such a sad existence, isn't it? Being incapable of feeling love or empathy?"

"It's fine, Balthazar," Orthon laughed, "I rather enjoy my existence. You should feel sorry for yourself."

"You have no idea what it feels like to love, or even to like someone. Even your friends are just co-workers and accomplices. You're each game pieces for each other. I told you I killed Cresil, and not one of you even seemed to care. No sadness, no anger... He was just another one in your army, and you really didn't need him at the moment, so you didn't mind him being killed. He wasn't your friend. You are incapable of forming meaningful friendships," Cole continued, "the only regret you felt when I ended your companion's life was that he couldn't be used to fight your cause anymore. Each one of you is only working toward your own goals. It just so happens that your goals intersect so that you can use each other to obtain them."

"No, Balthazar," Orthon argued, "you're the one who is flawed. You allow yourself to be blinded by these human emotions of sympathy and love, but they're all a sham. If you were all demon, as you should be, or even if you just allowed your demon side to have what he wants, you would be completely with us. Look at this witch," he shook Prue for emphasis, "Tell me you honestly wouldn't want in on this if you let yourself. You wanted to kill them at one point, and you obviously aren't immune to wanting sexual gratification... We could allow you to have all that if you just let your human side sink back down where it belongs. There's no need to win a woman over with kindness or what you call _love._ You can have what you want with no regrets."

Prue swallowed a lump in her throat. Orthon's words made her feel sick. She wasn't going to allow him to do what he was implying. She would fight him until he killed her first. There was no way she would be scared into allowing him to degrade her sexually just so she could live for a few agonizing hours longer.

"Even when I lived as Balthazar, I never even _thought_ about raping someone," Cole growled. Prue felt her heart skip a beat as she listened to his words. Up until now, no one had actually mentioned rape. It had only been implied. Of course, Orthon's words, wandering hands, and prior actions had made his intentions quite clear, but somehow Prue still hoped she was mistaken about what was being implied. It was a foolish and obviously false hope. Prue wasn't that naive. She knew what Orthon planned to do to her. Even so, hearing Cole bring it up so bluntly made the situation feel all the more real. "I was never in the business of torture either," he added, "there's no point. I'm not a sadist. Even my demon side is better than that."

"Well, why the hell not?" Orthon laughed, "it's fun."

"Could you have at least enough respect to let her go for my sake? As a fellow demon - one of your own, I have personally invested time into the relationships I have with the Halliwell sisters," Cole explained, "you don't have to like me; Just respect me enough to not kill someone I've gotten to know personally. There are other witches you can go after. Just leave the Charmed Ones alone. You can't expect me to go back to my old ways and to be on your side if you hurt and murder someone I've formed a friendship with."

Leaning to the side, Prue glanced back behind herself as best as Orthon's grip allowed so that she could see Cole. Did he mean that? Did he consider her a friend? She shook her head though when realizing he had suggested that these demons go after other witches instead, "no, Cole," Prue argued, "they can't go after other witches. Any other witches out there did nothing to deserve that."

Cole sighed and looked annoyed as he shook his head, not even bothering to verbally disagree.

Prue appreciated that he was trying to save her, but she never would want her life spared at the expense of another innocent witch. Of course, she was fairly certain these demons would not only be unwilling to release her, but also would be more than willing to kill any and every other witch they could, regardless of what Cole asked or suggested.

Orthon pulled Prue harshly back so that she was facing forward again, "I'm sorry, Balthazor, but we've got an opportunity here, and I'm not going to let it pass us up. It's no fault of ours that you've bonded with our enemies. Maybe you can invest in relationships with those other witches you mentioned," he glanced down at Prue and winked his eye at her.

Prue grimaced in disgust as the shrunk down as much as she could and allowed herself to be roughly dragged closer to her doom. Just as she had suspected, words were not going to get them out of this situation.

_**xxxxxx**_

_**Please drop me a review. Thank you!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hi again. Thank you for your continued reviews and support of this story. I really do mean it when I say your reviews motivate me to continue, or at least to continue faster. (I have the whole story finished already - it's just a matter of editing each chapter before I post it.) You guys are great! I hope you like this next chapter...**_

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Chapter 9

Cole sat stiffly in the back of the van which Melchom was driving slowly down the dark dirt road back toward the abandoned house. This vehicle seemed to have been built more for the purpose of hauling hardware than transporting people. The back didn't have actual seats, but rather two makeshift benches, one along each side. Verin sat in the back with Cole, no doubt to be sure the half-demon didn't try anything. Across from him, on the other makeshift bench sat Orthon, who still gripped Prue with one large hand and his knife in the other. He held it close to her, threatening her as well as Cole at the same time. He knew Cole didn't want to see Prue get hurt. Threatening her would ensure that Cole complied as well.

He felt so guilty as he observed Prue. Her eyes were impossibly wide and brimming with tears she refused to let fall just yet as she stared ahead. She looked entirely miserable and frightened as she sat stiffly next to the demon. Even so, it was clear to him that she was putting an extraordinary amount of effort into appearing calm and collected. He even swore he saw some hint of determination somewhere in her features. Prue may have felt doomed, but it seemed there was at least some part of her that hadn't given up yet.

More than anything, he wanted to help her. Even though he already knew on a very obvious level that trying to reason with these men was not going to work, he didn't know what else to do. At the moment, he was in no position to fight his way out of this. If Cole had been here alone, he wouldn't have gone along with this for so long. He would have fought these men. By this point, either all of the demons sent after him would be dead, or Cole would be. He wasn't so opposed to risking his own life, but he couldn't risk Prue's. If he lashed out now, she would only get hurt, or worse, killed. Reasoning with the unreasonable was the only option he could think of at the moment.

"How about we all agree that we're off limits to each other," Cole suggested, "you let her go, and she'll promise that she and her sisters won't interfere with anything you're involved in. That's why you want her dead, right? So The Charmed Ones won't meddle in your affairs? It won't matter that they are powerful if they agree not to bother you. The Charmed Ones won't be a problem for you guys in particular. Can we agree to that?"

Verin laughed, "she won't be a problem when she's dead either. There's really no use in trying to negotiate with us. You haven't got any leverage."

Cole scoffed, "you all should feel ashamed of yourselves. This is the most cowardly display I've ever seen. You aren't even giving her a chance. I've been like you before, willing to kill those who may not have necessarily deserved it... but I would have never stooped this low. This isn't a deserved victory. It's completely shameful. There's no other way to see it."

"By your human logic, yes," Verin raised his eyebrows, "humans feel ashamed of everything they do. Demons don't. We want to kill her, and of course, have a little fun, as Orthon puts it. That's what we want, so that's what we'll do. There's no shame in doing what you want, Balthazar. You should remember that."

"Yeah," Orthon laughed, "remember your demonic half, Balthazar. It's not too late for you to get in on this," he put his hand on Prue's thigh, rubbing slowly up and down over her jeans.

Prue squeezed her eyes shut as she flinched away.

"Just let her go, Orthon," Cole shook his head as he stared angrily at the demon across from him. He had to fight the urge to leap across the back of the van and attack the man. It was taking a lot of self-control...

"I don't think so," Orthon grinned, "I've been wanting to get my hands on this little witch for a long time."

Cole focused back on Prue. It tore him up inside to know there was nothing he could do for her right now. He wanted to offer her some words of comfort, but he knew they would all be lies. He could tell her she was going to be okay, but he wasn't sure she was going to be. It seemed like her only chance was going to come when either she or Cole physically fought their aggressors. Unfortunately, that moment might end up leading to one or both of their deaths.

He continued looking at her until her eyes opened again. She looked straight at him, almost questioningly, silently asking him what she should do. He couldn't say anything that would be true and reassuring at the same time, so he simply gave her his eye-contact instead. He wanted to tell her that the second he felt her life was in serious jeopardy he'd be there to defend her, but he didn't want the other demons to hear him say that... so he tried to tell her with his eyes. He didn't want to try anything just yet, as Orthon might very well deliver on this threat and stab her or cut her throat. As a last resort, however, he was fully prepared to do whatever it took to save Prue's life.

"Why are you wearing this awful jacket?" Orthon commented, tugging at the jacket Cole had given to Prue earlier an an attempt to remove it from her body. She flinched away and wrapped her arms tightly around herself in order to avoid him being successful, "Aww, come on now," the demon laughed, "your little outfit's so cute. Let's see it."

"No," Prue refused as he tugged at the jacket again. She struggled to push his hands away.

"Stop it, Orthon," Cole growled as he shook his head in disgust and clenched his hands into fists.

Orthon simply smiled, pushing his knife against Prue's neck hard enough that it actually drew a small amount of blood, "take the jacket off, sweetheart."

Prue whimpered. She let her arms fall limply to her sides, but didn't move to remove the garment. Instead, Orthon took it upon himself to pull it off her arms and toss it to the floor, revealing her low-cut top which had no back besides two strings - one that tied at the base of her neck and one which tied above her waist.

"What an interesting decade to be alive," Orthon remarked as he let his eyes graze over her body, "I quite enjoy these current fashion trends."

Cole frowned. Prue's body shook very slightly, from either the chill air or her fear - quite possibly both. She looked like she was trying to shrink down as small as she could, but with every movement she made away from Orthon, he moved in closer to her to make up the difference. He could see that Prue was scared, and he wanted desperately to help her, but didn't see any way that he could without it backfiring. If he tried, Orthon would only hurt her more, or maybe even kill her. There was nothing he could do. Unless she seemed to be in grave danger, Cole was just going to have to hold off on doing anything.

The demon ran his hand over her bare back and around to her shoulder, allowing his fingers to trail up and down her arm, "we've got until midnight," he spoke, "that's what, two more hours? This ought to be fun."

Cole could see Prue was trembling as Orthon moved his hand slowly up and down her now-bare arm. He pressed his knife threateningly up against her throat at the same time, eliciting a small whimper from his captive, "shhh," he whispered into her ear, "there's no need to cry. Your death will mean the target will be lifted off your sisters' backs. Without you, there are no Charmed Ones. There are just two ordinary witches. No one's going to care much about defeating them after you're gone. They'll finally be safe."

Prue closed her eyes and sniffed back her tears. Cole frowned. It almost seemed like she had accepted her death. Maybe Orthon saying that her sisters would be left alone after this was enough to make her accept her fate. She was quite obviously scared, of course, but knew no amount of pleading or reasoning was going to get her out of this.

"But then, once they're not so powerful, maybe we can take advantage of that. I hear the three of you are a force to be reckoned with in more ways than one. Powerful as witches, and as seductresses. A lot of people picture witches as ratty old hags, but not you three. You're not the only Halliwell I wouldn't mind getting close to," Orthon laughed as he pulled Prue closer to himself and squeezed her arm, "Balthazar understands that logic; isn't that right?" he smirked at Cole, "He already won over one sister... And it looks like he was working on the next before we came along. Perhaps I'll follow his example. Once we're done with you, we can move on to your youngest sister," he glanced down at Prue and laughed, "we'll see what all the fuss is about," he then raised his eyebrows toward Cole, "you chose Phoebe first for a reason, right?" he grinned.

Cole fought the urge to jump up and attack the man. As much as it angered him to hear Orthon threaten not only Prue, but now Phoebe and Piper as well, he knew he couldn't let words make him lose his temper. Of course he hated this demon speaking about Phoebe in that way, but he knew he needed to control himself to keep Prue from getting hurt. Besides, Orthon's threats were only threats. Phoebe and Piper were probably safe right now. Once he got himself and Prue out of this situation, he would see to it that Orthon did not deliver on his threats. For now, he just needed to keep his cool. Orthon could say whatever he wanted. It didn't mean it was going to happen. Cole wouldn't let it.

He noticed that Prue's eyes were open now... She glared ahead. He also observed that her hands were both clenched into fists. Prue was seemingly just as angry as Cole was, and most likely even more so. She didn't look so scared anymore. Now she just looked pissed. He could tell she was fuming. If Orthon spoke one more threatening word directed at one of Prue's sisters, the witch was probably going to lose it. Cole knew her much better than Orthon did, obviously. She may be willing to stay still and behave if she only feared for her own life, but the second her sisters were in perceived danger, she wasn't so worried about her own well-being anymore. He had seen this in her before, and he suspected he'd probably see it again soon. Cole only hoped that if she did fight back, she didn't get herself killed in the process. He held his breath.

"Where would you suggest I start, Balthazar?" Orthon smirked again, "Phoebe or Piper? Of course, you're a bit biased, aren't you? Is Phoebe all you thought she would be? I'll just have to take your word for it and go for the youngest. She certainly seems more feisty than the other. Not that I won't look forward to having a little fun with Piper too. I bet Phoebe would be a fighter, like Prue here. Piper might not even fight back. It'll be interesting to test those theories."

And that was Prue's last straw. She reached up as quick as lightning and snatched the knife right out of Orthon's hand, spinning herself around so that she was straddling him and proceeding to stab him with it in the chest several times, "don't you ever talk about my sisters like that!" she screamed as she stabbed him again. He never even fought back. It had all happened so quickly. The demon clearly thought Prue wouldn't pose a threat. She hadn't even had to fight him for the knife. He hadn't expected her retaliation at all.

Cole's eyes widened in surprise, but he jumped up and acted quickly. He had to get control over this situation before Verin did. Prue had certainly been helpful just now, but she was too caught up in her emotions. At the moment, she was just focused on getting rid of Orthon. He had threatened her sisters, so getting him out of the way was all she cared about. She had all but forgotten Verin and Melchom, who were still in the van, and who were definitely still going to be a problem.

As Prue raised the knife up passed her head and prepared to bring it back down and stab the already dead man once more, Cole grabbed it from her hand. It was sticky with blood. He proceeded to grab Prue's arm with his other hand and dragged her behind himself. She immediately fell to her knees. Cole would have liked to take a moment and make sure she wasn't hurt, but he didn't really have the luxury of time at the moment.

At this point, Melchom had slammed on the brakes and the van had come to a stop. He was making his way toward the back.

Verin was already nearly on top of them. Cole swung the knife out toward his neck, fortunately making a clean slice deep enough to kill him. The demon reached up and grabbed at the wound, gurgling as his own blood filled his throat. As he took a step toward Cole and Prue, Cole kicked him away. He staggered backward and finally toppled over. The gurgling sound continued for a few moments longer before Verin's body went completely limp.

"The hell is wrong with you?" Melchom growled, "you speak of killing with honor, and you kill a man with his own knife, and then cut his friend's throat?" He didn't come as close as Verin had. He knew to keep his distance, "we weren't going to hurt you, Balthazar," Melchom glared angrily at him as he raised his hands in front of himself in an attempt to appear non-threatening.

Prue would have probably let him go. She probably would have ordered him to get out of the van so that she and Cole could escape. The naive witch wouldn't have seen him as an immediate threat. She would have felt guilty to stab him when he was seemingly surrendering.

Cole didn't like leaving loose ends. So he lunged forward, swinging the knife at the man who dodged his attacks. Cole persisted, getting as close to Melchom as possible and stabbing the knife into his stomach once, and then twice, and then a third time until he stopped moving. Cole slit his throat for good measure, then moved to the back of the van, opening the door and then dragging the bodies back, throwing them out onto the road.

"Let's get out of here," he suggested, looking at Prue who simply stared ahead blankly, "Prue?" She looked shocked. Blood which wasn't her own covered her forearms and she trembled slightly as she continued staring at nothing.

"I killed him," she finally whispered as she focused her gaze on Cole. Her eyes shone with tears and her body continued shaking.

"Yeah," Cole nodded.

"I've never..." she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"You've vanquished plenty of demons... and none so nasty as this one," Cole assured her, unsure why she was so shaken up. She'd probably killed more demons than she could count. And this particular one had threatened to do terrible things to both her as well as to her sisters. None deserved a painful death more than him.

"I've never killed a demon like this, Cole," Prue shook her head, "it's one thing to throw a potion at someone or say a spell... Cole, I stabbed him... It was so... personal. I don't even know how I managed to get the knife from him. It all happened so fast. I can't believe I did this..."

"He deserved it. Listen, Prue," he spoke, closing the back doors, pulling her up to her feet, and putting his arm on her shoulder as he moved toward the front of the van, "we've got to go. I can talk you through this later, but there are still two of them out there somewhere. We need to get out of here before they find us... Though I see now that you're more capable of defending yourself than they realize," he laughed. Prue did not.

"He was going to kill me, Cole," Prue rationalized, "then he was going to hurt Piper and Phoebe... I didn't know what else to do... I- I didn't even think about it... Cole, I just did it, without considering any other alternatives. I'm not a judge or jury; I can't decide this man deserved death," she was beginning to ramble, and her breaths were becoming frantic, "I didn't want him to hurt them, Cole. He said he was going to..."

"Just come sit up front with me and don't think about it," he suggested. The way he saw it, she didn't need to explain herself or apologize. She did what needed to be done. Prue obviously felt differently. She needed to convince herself that the man she just killed had deserved it, and that there was no other option. She was far more human than Cole was, and that was becoming quite clear now as she displayed her regrets and doubts, "we'll get further away and then talk this out, okay?" he offered.

She nodded and followed him up to the front of the van, sitting down in the passenger seat and staring out the windshield. Her expression was blank.

Cole sighed and put the vehicle back into drive.

**_xxxxxx_**

**_Please Review! This chapter was kind of a big one... Big, events-wise, as in, very important to the story and its characters. I'd love to know what everyone thinks of it._**


	10. Chapter 10

**_Greetings, and sorry for the delay. I don't remember when I updated this last, but it's been longer than some of you probably would have preferred... I'm sorry for making you wait so long. Thank you to everyone who is still reading and thank you double to those who are reviewing. :) Here is the next chapter:_**

**_xxxxxx_**

Chapter 10

It was nearing midnight when Cole pulled the van into a rest area along the interstate. He knew there was no point in driving back toward the Halliwell Manor, as midnight was closer than the house. As soon as his magic was restored, he could shimmer himself and Prue back there. Of course, they might try calling Leo to them first, so that he could ensure that it was even safe to return there at this point. Prue would also need him to heal her ankle and wrist if she didn't want to go through the trouble of an emergency room.

They hadn't really driven all that far, but Prue had been mostly silent the whole way, and Cole didn't necessarily like that. He knew she was traumatized and that she probably needed to talk through what was bothering her, but every time Cole attempted to make conversation, she would simply nod or offer one-word replies. She didn't want to talk yet.

Cole glanced over at her as he pulled into a parking space right in front of the rest area's shelter. Fortunately, there were no other vehicles in the lot. He and Prue both still had blood drenching their arms and hands. They needed to get cleaned up, and preferably where no one else would notice their presence.

"You okay, Prue?" Cole asked, frowning as he looked over at her.

Prue simply nodded . She grabbed a handful of change from the van's ashtray, probably in case she found a payphone. No doubt she intended to call and check in on her sisters. Prue opened the door and jumped out as soon as Cole had brought the van to a complete stop.

Cole stayed put as Prue closed the van's door. He watched her walk with a slight limp up toward the building. She glanced around the outside for a moment before going in. Cole could see there was no phone outside, but it looked like there used to be one there. The remnants of a payphone box stood near the door, but it had been somehow destroyed. Maybe someone had accidentally driven into it.

Sighing, Cole stepped out of the driver's side and made his way into the rest area's shelter. There didn't seem to be a working phone either outside or inside the building. That meant they'd have to wait even longer before knowing if Phoebe and Piper were alright. As tempted as he had been to pull off the interstate and find a phone at a gas station or some other business, he knew that people would be very suspicious if they saw him and Prue with blood splattered all over them. They couldn't go anywhere that other people would see them. Not until they got cleaned up.

Cole moved toward the men's room. Once inside, he looked at himself in the mirror. He had a scratch on his face, but it wasn't too deep. He looked tired, which was no surprise to him, since he felt exhausted as well. His white dress-shirt was covered in small drops of blood, mostly on his sleeves. He shrugged out of it and stuffed it into the trash bin. Fortunately, he was wearing a sleeveless undershirt beneath it, and that undershirt still remained spotless.

He then rinsed the blood off his hands. Getting rid of people who he deemed a threat was not usually this messy. He proceeded to scrub his hands as well as his arms up to his elbows with soapy water, finally rinsing them off one last time and drying them with a paper towel.

Cole narrowed his eyes as he further examined at his face in the mirror. Fortunately there wasn't any blood there. He sighed again and made his way back out into the lobby of the rest area. Prue was nowhere to be seen. She must have still been in the ladies room.

He paced around for a minute, waiting on her, but she didn't come out. Women always did tend to take longer in the bathroom than he understood, so he continued waiting. He made is way out to the van and retrieved his jacket, which had been rudely tossed to the floorboards earlier. Though the jacket was dark colored, it seemed to be clean. It had been on the floor, and he saw no blood around it at least. It felt dry as well.

Then he searched the front of the car until he found some coins. He grabbed a handful and made his way back inside, putting them into a vending machine and buying two bottles of water. He paced around for a moment more. Prue was still not back.

Cole stared at the door to the ladies room. What was taking her so long? He walked up to it and raised his hand to knock, but hesitated. Maybe he shouldn't. Maybe he should let her take her time. He put his hand back down and paced the lobby once more, finally giving up on being polite and returning to his spot just outside the door. He knocked lightly, "Prue?" he called.

She didn't answer.

Putting his ear up against the door, Cole listened. At first he couldn't make out any sounds, "Prue, you alright in there?" he asked.

He still received no answer. But listening closer, he did hear something. It sounded soft, very quiet... yet was still there. It was the sound of someone crying.

Cole closed his eyes as he felt his shoulders slump. He exhaled and pushed the door open slowly, "Prue?" he called out again.

"Just a second," she finally answered. He could hear the tears in her voice.

"I'll be out in the lobby," he told her, letting the door close and stepping back away from it. She clearly needed her space. So he walked over and leaned against a wall with a huge map of Kansas covering it. He put his back against the wall and slid down so that he was sitting on the floor.

Cole placed the two bottles of water on the floor next to him and began looking around the room. It was quite small, but still large enough to be comfortable. There was electricity here at least, and it was indoors, so that was nice. It seemed like the heat was even on. Not as strongly as he would have hoped, but it was warmer than the basement at least. He let his eyes scan the rest of the walls. There were scenic photos covering them, including a field spotted with round bales of hay, another field full of wind turbines, and some hill-covered terrain. He looked at another wall, exhaling tiredly and closing his eyes when he saw yet another boring photo - this one was of a barn. Was this the best Kansas had to offer?

Finally, he heard the faint creaking of a door being carefully pushed open. He watched as Prue walked very cautiously out of the ladies room, sitting down quietly next to him and avoiding eye-contact.

Cole leaned down slightly so he could see her face. She was looking down at the floor and wouldn't look back at him. Her eyes looked slightly red, as though she had been crying, and her mouth was set in a straight line, but her lips were just barely trembling as though she was trying very hard not to cry again.

"You can cry if you need to," Cole told her, "but don't you dare feel guilty. He deserved the death you gave him and more. He deserved to die much more slowly and painfully. Do you even realize the things he would have done if you hadn't killed him when you did, Prue? You've got no reason at all to regret your actions."

Prue shook her head and sniffed, "I don't know what came over me," she frowned, "I know he posed a threat, and I couldn't let him get to my sisters... but I could have handled it differently. I didn't have to kill him so brutally. I had the knife. I could have just threatened him. When I learned I was a witch, I didn't ever think I'd be actually killing people. Vanquishing isn't the same thing."

"Did you not notice his hands all over you? Did you not hear the things he said?" Cole frowned, "you had no other choice."

"You may be accustomed to straight up murdering people, but I'm not," Prue pouted, "stopping someone from doing something doesn't always mean killing them. I couldn't let him carry out his plans, but he didn't have to die... at least not so brutally."

Cole frowned. She looked so sad. It was hard for him to understand how she wouldn't feel good about having stabbed Orthon to death. He had hurt her and groped her. He had threatened to kill her. And he had threatened to treat her sisters to the same fate he was planning on dishing out to her. The way Cole saw it, Prue should be feeling pretty good right about now. She had done what she needed to defend herself and protect her sisters. She had gotten rid of a horrible person. If anything, she should be regretting the fact that she didn't torture the man first. He deserved it. Cole felt good about having gotten rid of four of the six demons who had come after them tonight. The only thing he regretted was not going back to kill the last two.

But he could see that Prue's feelings did not match his own. She wasn't a half-demon like Cole was. Her instincts didn't draw her to seek out violent revenge. Like most humans, she allowed emotions and empathy to prevent her from properly protecting herself. Where Cole never took chances and killed before he needed to act in defense, Prue waited until she absolutely had to before she acted against someone, and even then she still felt guilty for it.

"I hope you can come to terms with what happened tonight," Cole spoke, handing his jacket back to her and watching her put it on, "I can't say I understand how you feel, Prue, but the way I see it, you did the only thing you could do. I hope you can begin to understand why you did what you did, and I hope you can see why it needed to be done. Keeping him alive would have only prolonged the inevitable, and may have gotten you and your sisters killed. He had to to be stopped."

Prue nodded, "I don't disagree with that... I just wish it hadn't happened the way it did."

Cole put his arm around her shoulders and smiled when she snuggled in closer and leaned her head back against him, "so do I," he agreed, "I wish I could have killed him instead. I'd have been glad to do the dirty work."

"Of course you would," Prue offered a slight laugh.

Cole smiled. He felt relieved that Prue seemed to be feeling better about what had happened. This would probably bother her for a while, but she'd get over it eventually, and she seemed to accept it at least a little bit already, "I have no qualms ending people who deserve death," Cole commented.

"Should we call the police?" Prue wondered, "I mean, I know they were demons, and you know they were demons... but to anyone else they're just regular men. We killed four men tonight, Cole... and drove their bloody van here. How are we going to explain that?"

"They're demons, Prue," Cole explained, "once the spell wears off, they'll disappear just like demons normally do. I doubt anyone will find their bodies before then. It's nearly midnight already, and that's when the spell will wear off, or so one of them said... I don't know about the van... I suppose I could just take care of it... Push it into a lake somewhere."

Prue glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow, "you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yeah," Cole laughed, "no one's going to miss any of them. They aren't human, and there won't be any bodies. No one will be looking for them, no one will find them, and no one will be seeking to explain their deaths. There will be barely any evidence left, and what is there won't add up to anything anyway, but I can erase the rest of the evidence easily. It's not like I haven't done it before."

Prue frowned as she let that information sink in.

"Forget I said that," he laughed, "like I said before, the past is the past... but I can make sure no cops come knocking on your door asking about this. I'll leave it at that."

"Thanks, Cole," Prue smiled slightly.

"No problem," Cole grinned as well. He leaned his head back against the wall, glancing down for a moment. He couldn't see Prue's face. Just her dark hair on the top of her head still leaning against his chest, "Prue?" he frowned.

"Yeah?" she spoke.

"I've probably already said this, but I'm sorry I got you into this mess," he told her, "I really did mean what I said before about you being like a sister to me," he added, "I was trying to keep you safe... If they would have killed you, I don't know if I'd have been able to live with myself afterward."

"It's okay, Cole," Prue said in a tired voice as she snuggled closer to him, "you miscalculated; that's all. If they'd have killed me, it would have been their fault, not yours. Besides, it seems like they were going to track me specifically no matter where I was. It was probably best that you got me away from Piper and Phoebe. I was going to be in danger anyway. Your actions made sure my sisters weren't involved, and I'm very grateful for that."

Cole shook his head, "Even so, my guilt would have been excruciating if they'd have killed you, Prue," and of course his guilt was ever present anyway. Just because she had lived through this didn't mean everything was fine. Cole felt horrible. Prue's ankle and wrist were hurt, she had been grabbed rather harshly more times than Cole remembered, had been threatened, nicked with a knife, groped... She had had to listen to Orthon speak of vile things he planned on doing to her and her sisters... and it was all Cole's fault for forcing her to come to the house in the first place. At least if they had stayed in the city, they could have called the police or had at least someone around who might help. Taking Prue to the middle of nowhere meant Piper and Phoebe were safer, but it was pretty much the most dangerous option possible for Prue's sake.

"If I can't feel bad for stabbing Orthon, you can't feel bad either," Prue demanded, "I brutally stabbed a man to death, but you say it's fine because it needed to be done. You accidentally brought me into a dangerous situation, and I'm telling you it's fine because you had good intentions, and because I was kind of doomed either way. If you insist that I need to feel alright about what happened tonight, you've got to feel alright too."

Cole smiled. Prue rationalizing _his_ actions was something entirely new to him. The witch ordinarily found fault in every move he took, "are we finally friends then?" he raised his eyebrow.

Prue looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. Then she looked past him at a clock hanging on the wall. She squinted at it, causing Cole to look at it as well as the minute hand moved from the eleven all the way to the twelve. He glanced back down at Prue.

"Looks like that clock was slow," she beamed.

"You've got your power back," Cole smiled, recognizing what she had done, "how did you know the clock was wrong?"

"I've been trying to use my powers all night, Cole," she laughed, "haven't you?"

Cole shrugged, "here and there," he admitted, "though mine is a little more destructive than yours. That clock would be a smoldering puddle of melted plastic if I had used my power on it."

Prue smiled, "hold on a second," she instructed. At that, she closed her eyes and slumped forward.

Rolling his eyes, Cole reached out and caught her in his arms, pulling her back up against himself and sighing. Of course her mind had been on her sisters all this time. She immediately needed to know that they were okay. He wished she would have waited a few minutes before astral projecting herself back to the house though. He figured her astral projection couldn't be harmed, but wasn't entirely sure. He would have rather been sure the manor was safe before she projected herself there, and he was fairly certain that's where she had sent her astral self. He couldn't imagine where else she would have gone.

As tempted as he was to shimmer to the manor himself to see what was going on, he knew he needed to stay here with Prue, and didn't want to take her with him while she was unconscious, just in case something dangerous was going down at the Halliwell house.

So Cole sighed, sat back, and waited...

**_xxxxxx_**

**_Review?_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_Thanks again for all the reviews and thank you for being patient considering my slow updates as of late. I hope you enjoy the last few chapters now that the story is winding down._**

**_xxxxxx_**

Chapter 11

As Prue's astral-self materialized in the living room of the Halliwell manor, the witch immediately glanced nervously around herself. She was entirely unsure of what condition the house would be in prior to projecting herself here. She also was understandably fearful that she may be projecting herself into the middle of something dangerous. She narrowed her eyes as she looked around the room. Everything seemed as it should - nothing appeared to be broken, everything was quiet, and it seemed like no one was here.

She stepped slowly and quietly as she crossed the room. For the first time in several hours, walking didn't hurt her. Of course, she wasn't technically even here. Her injured ankle wasn't really walking, though she did still feel the dull throbbing pain of both her ankle and her wrist. Just because she wasn't physically exercising her limbs didn't mean she couldn't still feel them.

As she made her way around the first floor of the manor, Prue glanced upstairs. She was beginning to feel worried. Of course her sisters had probably left the house since they had known demons would be coming after them, but where had they gone? Did they have plans to come back any time soon? Were they even able to come back? They could be hurt... or worse. There was no way she could know. She wouldn't have blamed them for not wanting to come back right away, but she desperately needed to know they were okay.

Sighing softly, she made her way back toward the kitchen, which was where the land-line phone was. She'd just have to call one of their cell phones. Hopefully her sisters had thought to take their phones with them. Prue certainly hadn't had time to grab hers before leaving the house. In fact, she had no idea where she had even left it.

Just as she was reaching for the phone, a familiar voice spoke up from somewhere behind her, "Prue?"

Prue spun around at the sound of Leo's voice. Sure enough, he was standing in the kitchen's doorway. He looked just as relieved as Prue felt, "Leo!" she couldn't help but smile as stepped toward him.

Leo took a few strides toward her as well, enveloping her in a hug, "where have you been?" he asked, "Piper said Cole took you someplace, but she didn't know where. Are you alright?"

Prue smiled as she kept her arms wrapped around Leo. She almost wanted to cry tears of joy, "I'm fine," she promised, "Piper and Phoebe are okay?" she finally pulled out of the embrace and looked up into his eyes.

He nodded, "they're fine," he informed her, "Piper called me here this morning. She said that Cole had just been by saying something about demons planning to cast some sort of spell that would render magic useless. She told me that he had plans to take you all someplace safe, so we waited a minute for him to come back but he never did... And by the time we started getting worried, our magic wasn't working. We didn't know how to find you... I'm so glad you're okay."

Prue smiled, "is everything alright around here?" she wondered, glancing around the room once more. It didn't look like anything at all had happened. Somehow she had expected that even if none of them were home, the demons would have come here looking for them, and would have no doubt left a mess in their wake. That didn't seem to be the case.

"We told Daryl what Cole had told Piper. The police kept a watch on the house, but Phoebe, Piper, and I left so they couldn't find us. I took them to a house I had lived in years and years ago. Piper and Phoebe are still there. I orbed back so I could make sure everything was safe here before bringing them back."

Prue nodded. She was appreciative that Leo had taken good care of her little sisters, "I'm glad Piper thought to call you here before it was too late. Thank you for keeping them safe," she smiled.

"What about you, Prue," Leo furrowed his brow as he looked her over, his eyes lingering for a moment on the over-sized jacket she was wearing, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Prue promised, "well, I might like for you to heal a few things later, but I'm okay otherwise."

"What do you mean?" Leo widened his eyes as he looked her over with more scrutiny. He reached out and touched her cheek. He must have noticed a bruise there. After all, Prue had been hit quite harshly several times by two different demons, "what happened, Prue?" he asked.

She had almost forgotten about the bruise. She recalled noticing it forming on her cheek earlier when she had looked at herself in the mirror at the rest stop, but it really didn't seem like anything to worry too much over. Her ankle and wrist were the most painful aspects of her injuries at the moment. The bruise didn't really bother her so much, "not that," she looked down, feeling a bit embarrassed. Maybe she shouldn't have Leo heal her. It wasn't like it was an emergency. She'd hate to abuse his power for something that wasn't a necessity, "it's really not a big deal," she explained, "I just have a twisted ankle and I hurt my wrist."

"How?" Leo's eyes were sympathetic and skeptical, and even a bit angry, "Did Cole do this to you?" he gestured back toward her cheek, "where is he?"

She shook her head, "No, he didn't do anything. I don't think Cole would hurt me, Leo. If anything, he protected me. Some demons tracked us to the house where Cole took me. Apparently they were keeping a close watch on all of our whereabouts, and since Cole and I shimmered there prior to the demons' spell, they found us. The fact that you guys didn't have your magic anymore when you left is why the demons didn't find you. We stayed put at the house - Cole didn't know he had been being watched, and I didn't suspect that they could track me like that either, so they found us pretty quickly. It was a bit of a challenge, but we made it out okay," she forced a laugh.

Prue really didn't want to go through all the agonizing details of the events that took place tonight. Leo didn't need to know that Orthon had all but blatantly threatened and attempted to rape her. He didn't need to know that more than one demon had held her down and hit her just because they wanted to see her in pain. And he certainly didn't need to know that Prue had viciously stabbed Orthon to death. It was probably best that he didn't find out that Cole had killed three of the demons all on his own without the use of his magic either. Leo already seemed to be skeptical of Cole's intentions. Mentioning that he had successfully killed three people this evening didn't really sound like such a good idea. The important thing was that she and Cole had made it away from the demons who had threatened them. They were okay, and their magic was back. That's all that mattered.

Leo narrowed his eyes, "where's Cole?" he asked again.

"Back with me at a rest stop in Kansas," she explained.

"Back _with you?_" Sighing, Leo closed his eyes for a brief moment, "you're not really here," he noticed, "this is your astral projection."

"Well, yeah," Prue frowned. She always forgot to tell her sisters and Leo when she wasn't really there. Somehow she always assumed they would be able to tell the difference, "I'm here doing the same thing you are, checking to make sure everything is okay before Cole and I come back... That, and I needed to know that Piper and Phoebe were okay. We're going to need to come up with a spell as soon as possible - one that will shield our magic from being dried up like this again."

"Phoebe's already on top of it. She's got some more ingredients to collect for a potion, but I think besides that, she's got a spell already written," Leo spoke, "I guess Halliwell minds think alike..."

"I guess so," Prue smiled.

He narrowed his eyes once more, "Cole was nice to you?" he seemed skeptical.

"Sure," she nodded. He had saved her life, more than once. He had been wonderful to her. Sure, they had their disputes. Their relationship was far from perfect, but considering the circumstances and their history of not quite getting along together, Cole had been perfectly kind of respectful toward her. She didn't want to elaborate on that too much to Leo, of course. He probably wouldn't understand how she could go from hating Cole with a passion to pretty much completely accepting him into her family. He had really proven himself tonight. Prue wasn't sure if that hint of doubt in her mind would ever vanish completely, but at the moment, she honestly felt she could trust Cole with her life, and maybe even with her sisters' lives.

"Were you nice to him?" Leo laughed with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorta," Prue grinned.

Leo shook his head in amusement, "well, everything seems to be alright around here. I'm going to sweep the house once more to be sure. Then I'll orb back to Piper and Phoebe and bring them back here. You and Cole can meet us in a few minutes if that's alright."

"That's perfect," Prue smiled, "I'm glad you're okay," she added as she reached out and grabbed Leo's hand. He had been in just as much danger as the rest of them. The demons would have surely killed him too if given the chance.

"I'm glad you are too," Leo stared into her eyes and squeezed her hand, "we were all so worried about you."

Prue looked down, almost feeling guilty for making Leo and her sisters worry, "I'll see you in a few."

**_xxxxxx_**

**_One more chapter to go. I'm not going to really get into what Piper, Phoebe, and Leo were up to all this time because this story isn't really about them. We know everyone is okay, so there's no need for me to dwell on telling an aspect of this story I really don't have much interest in exploring. Just imagine that their ordeal was a lot more comfortable, uneventful, and therefore a lot more boring. They probably mostly just talked about preventing this from happening again and about how worried they were about Prue and Cole. _**

**_Please review this chapter and I'll try to get the next one up in a more timely fashion than I did with these last few. :)_**


	12. Chapter 12

**_Thanks for reading and reviewing thus far. Without any further delay, I bring to you the final chapter of this story. It's been fun writing and reading and considering all of your reviews. I hope you enjoy the story through its ending._**

**_Last Chapter:_**

**_xxxxxx_**

**_Chapter 12_**

Leaning back heavily against the wall, Cole let out a tired sigh. He wasn't surprised that Prue had astral-projected herself to the manor as soon as she possibly could. She cared a lot about her family and needed to know her sisters were alright. Even so, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. With his ability to shimmer now returned to him, he could have taken them both there. But Prue wasn't exactly the kind of person who tended to wait on someone else to help her. She liked to depend on herself, and do things on her own when possible, so of course instead of planning an efficient way for them to both go back to the house, she just immediately went on her own without consulting him first.

It hadn't been long that she'd been gone, but Cole was feeling pretty impatient, and even more worried. What if things weren't alright at the manor? Maybe that's why Prue wasn't back yet... There was no way he could know. If there had been demons there, waiting for her to return, could they hurt her astral-projection? It wasn't technically her actual body. Her body was still here.

Cole nervously looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. He supposed he'd give her five more minutes before shimmering to the house himself.

He glanced down at Prue's unconscious form. She was leaning against his shoulder, where he had propped her up to prevent her from falling to the floor earlier. He saw a hint of a smile on her face. That had to be a good sign.

As he continued his observation of the young witch, Cole couldn't help but to smile as well. The demon honestly appreciated the amount of trust she had given to him just now. He would have never expected that she'd feel comfortable even standing in the same room as him, but here she was, lying against him, unconscious and completely defenseless. Before, she wouldn't have trusted him enough to even want him in her house with both of her powerful sisters there to back her up, but now she had put her complete trust in him, leaving her unconscious body behind and trusting him to guard her and to not take advantage of her not really being fully there. Surely if she still had any doubts that he meant to hurt her, she wouldn't have left herself here so vulnerable. In the recent past, she had seemed to still wonder if Cole intended on trying to kill her again. Maybe her present actions meant she didn't fear that possibility anymore. Or maybe her mind was on her sisters so strongly that she had neglected to watch out for herself and had opted to ignore her own fears and doubts.

Cole finally allowed himself to relax a little. Feeling Prue's body moving ever so slightly against him as she breathed soft breaths was calming. He noticed a clump of her bangs had fallen over her eyes, so Cole reached over and brushed them back behind her ear, smiling again as he observed her features. She honestly looked happy right now. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the wall again, moving his arm around Prue's shoulders and pulling her closer against himself.

He was so happy they had made it through this ordeal. There were several times throughout the night during which Cole had been honestly terrified for Prue's sake. But now that they had made it out of that horrible situation, he felt so many human emotions, feelings which he had worked hard to repress during other times in his life, but for which he was grateful now. He felt relief knowing that Prue was okay, and that the other Halliwell sisters probably were as well. He even felt proud, which was a foreign feeling to him considering he was usually a loner who didn't concern himself with what other people were doing. But at the moment, he was most definitely proud of Prue. She had been so scared, yet she had stayed strong and had defended herself magnificently against Orthon. He hoped she wouldn't feel bad about that anymore, because he felt it was a beautiful moment, seeing her exact revenge against that despicable creature. That had taken a lot of bravery on her part.

Sighing, Cole glanced back up at the clock. It still hadn't been five minutes. In fact, it hadn't even been three. Time seemed to be moving by at an excruciatingly slow pace as he waited.

After a few long minutes, Prue finally came back, lightly pushing herself up a bit so that she wasn't completely laying on top of Cole. He didn't even have to ask her for details. She began explaining immediately.

"They're okay," she smiled, "Leo drove them to a house he used to live in when he was younger and they waited it out. I guess Piper called him to her right after you and I left, right before the magic disappeared. Then they went and got Phoebe and left from there. The demons never found them, because they moved locations after magic was unusable. The demons couldn't track them anymore. So they waited it out and then Leo came back to the manor just about the same time I astral projected there; He was checking it out to make sure everything was safe before bringing Piper and Phoebe back. Apparently they told Daryl to expect that there may be people attempting to break into the house. And of course he informed the rest of the precinct."

Cole smiled. He was glad Phoebe and Piper were okay, and he supposed Leo too, "you do realize those demons will shimmer right out of any cells the cops put them in, right?"

Prue nodded, "We'll work on a protection spell when I get back to the manor, to make sure we can't ever be stripped of magic like that ever again. Leo said Phoebe had already written something while they were waiting out spell. She just needs a few ingredients for a potion. Next time they cast a spell like that, we'll be immune to it. Then when they come knocking, they'll be unpleasantly surprised when they don't have magic, but we still do."

"Good," Cole looked at her. Prue's demeanor had changed so fast. She seemed so happy now, and so empowered. Taking her magic away really did weigh her down. She had seemed lost without it, "you never did answer my question, Prue," he added, remembering what he had asked her just before she had regained her powers. He had wondered if she considered him a friend now, if she finally trusted him.

She frowned, "what question?" Her mind had clearly been very occupied when he had asked, and she had all but forgotten about anything that didn't involve her sisters.

For a moment Cole wondered if he should even ask again. Were those moments of Prue beginning to tolerate him going to be forgotten now that they had their powers back? For a few brief moments tonight, they had been equally human. Now they were back to being a witch and a demon, natural enemies. Though they seemed to have bonded and even become friends, he wasn't sure if she had meant any of it or if she had just been caught up in fear and desperation and had clung to him because he was the safest thing in a pool of danger.

"Cole," Prue spoke again, "what was the question?"

Shrugging, Cole sighed, "it was just..." he hesitated, "I was wondering if... in your eyes... if I had redeemed myself... Are we friends now?" He felt like an idiot even asking. What were they, elementary school kids? He wanted her to accept him so badly, and he really wasn't even sure why. Perhaps it was because he knew she was a good person and he wanted to be too. He liked her, cared about her well-being, and considered her a sister and a friend. He wanted her to reciprocate that feeling.

Cole didn't often form relationships with people. He had never really had much of a desire or need to. With Phoebe, it had come easily. She liked him from the start. Once he had fallen in love with her, he kind of wanted to be accepted into her family too. Piper didn't seem to mind him so much, but Prue seemed to hate him with passion, and for the first time in his life, what someone else thought of him actually bothered him.

Prue smiled and gripped his hand, "as far as I'm concerned, you've redeemed yourself."

Cole couldn't help but grin, "really?"

Nodding, Prue laughed,"for now, anyway... Whether or not you maintain my trust and respect is still in your hands. There's a lot of work that goes into keeping someone's trust... Especially mine. But as far as I am concerned, you are redeemed, for the moment. Although it took you long enough," she joked.

Cole shoved her playfully, but then wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her in a secure hug. It wasn't often that Cole felt very good about who he was. His demon side often made his human side feel conflicted, and his human side often made his demon side feel held back. But for the moment, he actually felt good about himself. He had formed real relationships. He felt like he had a family again...

He had not just an amazing, beautiful girlfriend in Phoebe, but had gained two sisters as well. Prue had always been the one he felt he'd never win over, but it seemed he had done so tonight. He felt honored that the young woman notorious for having trust issues was finally willing to give him a second chance. Cole truly did care deeply about her. Now he knew that the feeling was mutual. He was sure they'd have their moments in future days when they'd disagree, where Prue may even claim to hate him, but they'd always be like family. Nothing was going to change that.

"Thank you, Cole," Prue spoke in a soft voice as she returned his hug.

Cole didn't have to ask what she was referring to, "any time, Prue," he smiled.

"Now I know you're capable of being a decent person," Prue broke the embrace and looked up into his eyes, "I hope you can keep this up."

Cole laughed. She said it like it was some sort of challenge. But it was a challenge he was more than willing to take on. He honestly wanted to be the person Prue saw him as tonight. He wanted to be decent. Protecting people he cared about and not betraying them was what he wanted to do, and he was fairly certain he was quite capable of it,"let's get you home," Cole offered.

Prue nodded in agreement.

He took her hands in his, and with that, they shimmered back to the Halliwell manor. The sisters still had demons to vanquish; they always would. They had many trials ahead of them, but they had each other, and they had their magic. And maybe, with Cole's help, they'd have the upper-hand and inside knowledge to defeat the most powerful of demons.

**_xxxxxx_**

**_The End_**

**_xxxxxx_**

**_Thank you for reading through to the end. I hope you liked it. I'm sorry to anyone who wanted to read Prue's reunion with her sisters, but it was never my intent to write that scene. I'd write it just to please you guys, but I'm afraid it would feel forced and unnatural. It was always my plan to just tell Prue's and Cole's story of this incident. I hope no one is terribly disappointed that Piper and Phoebe weren't included much. Cole and Prue's relationship has always been interesting to me, so they are pretty much the only characters I cared about while writing this. I wish they could have had more moments together in the show. Their chemistry is wonderful._**

**_On another note:_**

**_I was thinking of writing another Charmed Story - completely unrelated to this one. I'm not sure if I can work a whole plot out and have a complete story in the end, but it would involve child-Prue, and maybe Piper and Phoebe as children as well. Maybe even also Paige. It would be a sort of alternate reality where demons try (and possibly succeed) in convincing Prue (or maybe all four witches) to join them instead of using their magic for "good." (It would be easy to convince children of this, especially considering when using magic for "good" they are told to avoid using their magic for personal gain. Demons probably don't worry about that, and they just do what they want...) I'd have to decide if I can make a full story or if this is just a muddled mess of a cool-sounding thought, and whether or not to only include Prue... (she's my favorite.) ^_^ I'll think about it... In the meantime, you can include in your review whether or not you think this is a story you might be interested in reading. _**

**_Thanks again for reading._**


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